How was the Arabic number system created?

Answer 1

The Arabic number system was actually created in India. It started with one line straight up for a 1. The 2 had a line on the bottom with a line coming up from the right. A three was made with three straight lines and looked something like a backward e. A 4 was made with 4 straight lines, and so fourth. A zero had no straight lines. The numbers looked quite a bit like our numbers. We have rounded off the lines. Europeans cross the 7 and make it look more like the original 7. It is quite easy to understand how a number system was created using the same number of lines as the number represented. The same logic led to the zero, a number with no straight lines. When the number system was created the nine lines creating the nine became the upper limit, so it was logical to simply create another column.

When the Arab traders came to India, they dropped the old Semitic numbering system and adopted the system used in India. The Europeans adopted the system used by the Arabs and called it the Arabic number system.