Convert Roman numerals to decimal
MCMXCIV in Roman numerals
1,994
How it gets there
- Read left to right, subtracting where a smaller symbol comes first
- M → +1000 C before M → −100 M → +1000 X before C → −10 C → +100 I before V → −1 V → +5
- Total
- 1,994
Why the working is here
Every other converter of this kind prints the answer and stops. A base is a positional system, so the answer is a sum you can check: each digit is multiplied by the base raised to its position, and the results are added. Going the other way is repeated division, reading the remainders upwards. Neither is a black box, and this page refuses to be one.