NUMIDIA 



5798 



NUMIDIA 



corresponding results in the altera- 

 tion of the value of the figure after 

 it according to its position, is of 

 uncertain origin. 



The fundamental tens group, 

 i.e. 10, 100, 1,000, 1,000,000, etc., 

 are given distinctive names, e.g. 

 ten, hundred, thousand, million, 

 etc., and repetition of these names 

 and those of the figures 0, 1-9 

 enable any particular number to be 

 remembered, instead of a fresh 

 name having to be remembered for 

 every individual number. As an 

 example, 2,408,924 is in full two 

 million, four hundred and eight 

 thousand, nine hundred and 

 twenty four. The terms billion, 

 trillion, etc., usually mean a 

 million millions, a million million 

 millions, etc., though in France and 

 the U.S.A. a billion is taken to be 

 a thousand millions only. 



Though the above system has 

 survived practically all others, the 



Roman numerals are still used for 

 certain purposes, e.g. dates. The 

 symbols I, II, TTT, LLLL explain 

 themselves, but the origins of 

 others in the system are not all 

 certain. X for ten is probably I 

 with a stroke across it, a symbol 

 that must have come into very 

 early use, and V for five is the 

 upper half of the symbol X, as L 

 and D for 50 and 500 are probably 

 half the symbols once used for C 

 and M, 100 and 1,000 respectively. 

 The letters C and M are the initial 

 letters of the Latin words for 100 

 and 1,000, centum and mitte re- 

 spectively. The use of IV and IX, 

 etc., are later modifications of IIII 

 and VniL 



The Greeks used a system ot 

 numerals in which the numbers 1 

 to 9 were represented by the first 

 nine letters of the alphabet, the 

 tens by the next nine letters, and 

 the hundreds up to 1,000 by 



another nine letters, two obsolete 

 letters being revived for the pur- 

 pose of the system. Lake other 

 ancient systems, apart from the 

 Hindu-Arabic, it proved too cum- 

 bersome for mathematical use, and 

 became obsolete. See Arithmetic ; 

 Decimal ; Number. 



Numidia. Roman prov. ol N. 

 Africa, between the provs. of 

 Africa and Mauritania, correspond- 

 ing to E. Algeria. The name means 

 land of nomads. Masinissa (q.v.) 

 united the country with Roman 

 aid, 201 B.C. On the overthrow of 

 Jugurtha (q.i:) the Romans con- 

 quered Numidia, but left it under 

 its own kings. Juba I having sided 

 with Pompey, Julius Caesar made 

 Numidia a Roman province, 46 B.C., 

 but in 25 B.C. Augustus gave the 

 W. part to Juba LI (see Juba). 

 The Numidians provided light 

 cavalry for the Carthaginian, and 

 later for the Roman army. 





Numismatics. Specimens oi ancient Greek and 

 Roman coins. L Cyzicus, c. 560 B.C., electrum 

 S*S. 2> C 10680 *. c. 555 B C., gold. 3. Athens, 

 560-480 B.C., silver. 4. Athens, c. 550 B C silver 

 tetradrachm, 5. Corinth, e. 600 B.C., silver 6 

 Philip EL c. 359-336 B.C., gold stater. 7. Philip EL 

 silver 8. Chalcidice, c. 392 B.C., silver stater. 

 9. Alexander the Great, c. 320 B.C., silver tetra- 

 fi ac >ri m ' 10- A 16 " 11461 the Great, gold statsr. 



mm, c. 450 B C silver. 12. Syracuse, c. 413-400 B.C., silver. 13. Roman silver denarius, c. 269 B.C. 14. Roman 

 bronze as. 15. Julmi Caesar, c. 50 B.C., gold. 16. Octavian, e. A.D. 1, silver 



from ipeeiment in U Sritiik Muttum 



