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Phoenician numbers

In History Today Online we explained in a previous post which were the Arabic numerals, but the truth is that they are not the only ones, and although somewhat complicated to understand, the truth is that the Phoenician numbers are perhaps much more difficult.In History Today Online we talk to you now of which are the Phoenician numbers.

Phoenician numbers

The Phoenicians also known as Canaanites, although they were a civilization that occupied a region called Canaan and was a territory that currently encompasses Israel, Syria and Lebanon.They always stood out for their art, closely linked to the different Mediterranean influences and as not for an alphabet that they created and that is in fact the origin of the alphabet that we know today, they also had a numerical system and that we tried to decipher below.

The Phoenician Numbers:

  • The main basis of the Phoenician numbers, are the angles and the stripes since these are the base they used to create the different numbers.Depending on how each angle was available, each number was represented.
  • It should be added that each number had a number of angles that was the same as the number that represented or in fact, had a number of stripes to represent each number (e.g.3 was written with three sticks)
  • On the other hand, it fits add that the Phoenician numeric system had differentiated symbols for the values ​​of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 100.
  • Thus the sign of 1 was a simple vertical line and similar to a line or a Roman number.The remaining numbers up to 9 were formed by adding the corresponding number of these lines, grouped three by three.
  • The 10 symbol was a horizontal line , while the symbol of 20 could appear with different variants, among which was the combination of the symbols of 10, approximately in the form of Z.
  • All those quantities that are greater, were formed by joining the corresponding amount of symbols of 10 or 20.
  • It is somewhat complicated to understand the first, although little by little we can understand that it is a matter of joining symbols, that form each number and that allow us to interpret them together.
  • On the other hand, it should be noted that we can find different versions of the symbol corresponding to 100 and that in fact this can be combined with the number in front of it and that it has a multiplicative value.If for example to represent the 500, we will have to draw the 5 followed by 100.

An example of Phoenician numbers:

Phoenician numbers

  • The Phoenician numbers are written or arranged from left to right and in fact we have to say that to represent numbers from two or three figures, we may end up drawing a series of symbols and represent a seemingly short number, in a fairly long way.
  • This is the example I want to show you:...this number represents the number 143 , and that is drawn as follows, the first symbol you see on the left is the symbol that represents 100, and that is followed by two equals, representation of 20 (being two add 40) and then three stripes or sticks that representrian the three.
  • That is to say that the number would be drawn as follows: 100 + 20 + 20 + 1 + 1 + 1 and I repeat, from left to right.
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