In Sobrehistoria we explained in a previous post what the Arabic numbers were, 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 Superhistory we talk now about what the Phoenician numbers are.
The Phoenicians also known as Canaanites, although they were a civilization that occupied a region called Canaan and that was a territory that currently includes Israel, Syria and Lebanon. They always stood out for their art, closely linked to the different Mediterranean influences and of course for an alphabet that they they created and what is in fact the origin of the alphabet that we currently know, also had a number system and that we try to decipher below.
The Phoenician Numbers:
- The main base of the Phoenician numbers, are the angles and the stripes since these are the base that they used to create the different numbers. Depending on how each angle was arranged, each number was represented.
- It should be added that each number had a number of angles which was the same as number they represented or in fact, they had a number of stripes to represent each number (for example, 3 was written with three sticks)
- On the other hand, it should be added that the Phoenician numerical system had differentiated symbols for the values of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 100.
- In this way the sign of 1 was a simple vertical stroke and similar to a dash or Roman numeral one. The rest of the numbers up to 9 were formed by adding the corresponding number of these strokes, grouped three by three.
- The symbol of 10 was a horizontal lineMeanwhile he symbol of 20 could appear with different variants, among which was the combination of the 10 symbols, roughly in the form of Z.
- All those quantities that are greater, were formed by joining the quantity that corresponded to them of symbols of 10 or 20.
- It is somewhat complicated to understand at first, although little by little we can understand that it is a matter of uniting symbols, which form each number and 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. So, for example, to represent 500, we will have to draw 5 followed by 100.
An example of Phoenician numbers:
- 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 digits, we may end up drawing a series of symbols and that it represents an apparently short number, in a rather long way.
- This is the example that I want to show you: … this number represents number 143and which is drawn as follows, the first symbol you see on the left is the symbol that represents The 100, and that is followed by two of the same, rendering of 20 (being two add up to 40) and after three stripes or sticks that would represent three.
- That is, the number would be drawn as follows: 100 + 20 + 20 + 1 + 1 + 1 And I repeat, from left to right.