The Babylonian number system, which arose thousands of years before the advent of a new era, was the beginning of the beginning of mathematics. Despite its oldest age, it was decipherable and revealed to researchers many secrets of the Ancient East. We will also plunge into the past and find out how the ancients believed.
Main characteristics
So, the most important thing to know is the Babylonian number system is positional. This means that numbers are written from right to left and in descending order. In the first place is a hundred, then a dozen, and then a unit. For ancient mathematics, this aspect is extremely important, since in Egypt, for example, the system was non-positional, and the numbers in the numbers were written in a chaotic order, which caused confusion. The second characteristic - in the Babylonian system there was a six-decimal cycle. The countdown ended at every sixth, and in order to continue the numerical series a new category was noted, and the recording began again from unity. In general, the Babylonian number system is not at all complicated, even a schoolboy can master it.
History of occurrence
It is reliably known that the Babylonian kingdom was built on the ruins of two powerful powers - Sumer and Akkad. These civilizations left a lot of cultural heritage, which the Babylonians very wisely disposed of. They borrowed a six-digit number series from the Sumerians, in which the digits were present, and dozens from the Akkadians. By combining the achievements of their ancestors, the inhabitants of the new state became the creators of a new science, which was called "mathematics". The Babylonian six-decimal number system made it clear that positioning is an extremely important factor in the recording of numbers, because in the future, Roman, Greek and Arabic numbers were created on this principle. Until now, we measure the values in tens, as if dividing the number with their help into digits. Well, as for the hexagon cycle, then take a look at the watch dial.
Writing Babylonian Numbers
To remember the number of the ancient Babylonians, you don’t have to make much effort. In mathematics, they used only two signs - a vertical wedge, which denoted a unit, and a “lying” or horizontal wedge, showing a dozen. These numbers have something in common with the Roman, where there are sticks, check marks and crosses. The number of wedges showed how many tens and units are in a particular number. In a similar technique, the countdown was made up to 59, after which a new vertical wedge was written before the number, which this time was already considered as 60, and a discharge was noted in the form of a small comma at the top. Having ranks in their arsenal, the inhabitants of the Babylonian kingdom saved themselves from incredibly long and confusing numbers of hieroglyphs. It was enough to count the number of small commas and wedges that were between them, as it immediately became clear what number is in front of you.
Math operations
Based on the fact that the Babylonian number system was positional, addition and subtraction took place according to a scheme familiar to us. It was necessary to count the number of digits, tens and units in each number, and then add them up or subtract the smaller one from the larger one. It is interesting that the principle of multiplication at that time was the same as today. If it was necessary to multiply small numbers, they used multiple additions. If in the example there were three or more significant indicators, we used a special table. The Babylonians invented many multiplication tables, in each of which one of the factors was a certain dozen (20, 30, 50, 70, etc.).
From ancestors to contemporaries
After reading all this, you will probably wonder: “How did the Babylonian number system, examples used by the ancients, and tasks come to similar accuracy to the hands of modern archaeologists?” The thing is that, unlike other civilizations that used papyrus and scraps of fabric, the Babylonians used clay tablets on which they recorded all their achievements, including mathematical discoveries. This technique was called “cuneiform”, as symbols, numbers and figures were displayed on fresh clay with a specially sharpened blade. At the end of the work, the tablets were dried and stacked in storage, in which they could hold out to this day.
Summarizing
In the above images, we clearly see what the Babylonian number system was and how it was written. Photos of clay tablets that were created in ancient times are slightly different from modern “deciphers,” so to speak, but the principle remains the same. For Babylon, the emergence of mathematics was an inevitable factor, since this civilization was one of the leading in the world. They erected colossal buildings for those times, made unthinkable astronomical discoveries and built an economy, thanks to which the state became prosperous and prosperous.