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Indian mathematicians write numbers by place value (Aryabhata, 499), and in 628 Brahmagupta gives the first rules for calculating with zero as a number and with negative numbers. The digits the world uses came from India, through the Arab world, to Europe.
How it was checked
- EvidenceT7 PRIMARY DOCUMENT / MEASUREMENT; Status: ADDED 2026-09-30
- Letter eraTHE CAPTURE 313 to 1302
- SourcesBrahmagupta, Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta (628), ch. 18; Aryabhata, Āryabhaṭīya (499).