Hindu–Arabic numeral system system is based upon ten (originally nine) different glyphs. The symbols (glyphs) used to represent the system are in principle independent of the system itself. The glyphs in actual use are descended from Brahmi numerals and have split into various typographical variants since the Middle Ages. These symbol sets can be divided into three main families: Western Arabic numerals used in the Greater Maghreb and in Europe, Eastern Arabic numerals (also called "Indic numerals") used in the Middle East, and the Indian numerals used in South Asia. The Hindu-Arabic numerals were invented by mathematicians in India. Perso-Arabic mathematicians called them
History of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system History of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system The Hindu–Arabic numeral system is a decimal place-value numeral system that uses a zero glyph as in "205". Its glyphs are descended from the Indian Brahmi numerals. The full system emerged by the 8th to 9th centuries, and is first described in Al-Khwarizmi's "On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals" (ca. 825), and Al-Kindi's four-volume work "On the Use of the Indian Numerals" (ca. 830). Today the name "Hindu–Arabic numerals" is usually used. Historians trace modern numerals in most languages to the Brahmi numerals, which were in use around the middle of the 3rd century