Random Roman Number Generator

How to create random Roman number

Fill number of values you want to generate. Enter minimum and maximum value. The rest of the inputs are optional. Description of inputs is below.

Number of values

How many results do you want. Max. number of results is limited to 100 000.

Min

The smallest value to be generated. In math language, this is the beginning of a closed interval. It has to be whole number.

Max

The biggest value to be generated. In math language, this is the ending of a closed interval. It has to be whole number.

Prefix

Prefix is a value placed before the number. It can be used for units, currencies, labels, etc. If you need a space between the prefix and the number, just type a space after the prefix.

Suffix

Suffix is a value placed after the number. It can be used for units, currencies, labels, etc. If you need a space between the suffix and the number, just type a space before the suffix.

Sorting

Default sorting is none, it means random. The final set can be also sorted in ascending or descending order.

Without duplicates

Check this option, if you do not want to have duplicate numbers in the generated set.

Lowercase

Convert final Roman characters to lowercase. For example III to iii.

Rules for using roman numerals

When converting "our" numbers to Roman numerals, there is essentially no standard of reference. Generally accepted conventions were decisive. This consensus was much looser until the Middle Ages than later. Today we follow the rules of the 16th-18th centuries.

Basic rules

• Roman numerals are written by combining the characters I, V, X, L, C, D, M.
• Roman numerals are composed by writing from the characters for the highest values to the lowest (MDL = 1550). Usually no more than 3 of the same Roman numerals are combined (XXX = 30, III = 3). Sometimes four of the same Roman numerals may be combined (IIII = 4 was common on old sundials).
• The smaller Roman numeral before the larger one indicates a subtraction (IV = 4). In this way only one Roman numeral is subtracted (only very occasionally two identical numerals: IIX = 8).
• Only the Roman numerals I, X, C are used for subtraction according to point 3; in a mathematical context, very rarely also M. The Roman numerals V, L, D were never used (correct: XC = LXXXX = 90, MCM = 1900; incorrect: VC = 95).
• The numeral I is usually used for subtraction only before V, X. Thus, it is not correct MIM for 1999 (better is MCMXCVIIII or MCMXCIX).

Characters for Roman numerals

Roman	Arabic
I	1
V	5
X	10
L	50
C	100
D	500
M	1000

Converting Roman numbers to Arabic numbers

If the larger Roman numeral is followed by a smaller or equal numeral, the values add:
CII = 100 + 1 + 1 = 102

When a smaller Roman numeral precedes a larger one, the smaller number is subtracted:
IX = -1 + 10 = 10 - 1 = 9
MCM = 1000 + (-100) + 1000 = 1000 + (1000 - 100) = 1900

Convert Arabic numbers to Roman numerals

If the number does not contain the digits 4 and/or 9, the situation is simple. The number is broken down into Roman thousands, (quintuplets,) hundreds, (fifties,) tens and units (i.e. from highest to lowest):
1763 = 1000 + 700 + 60 + 3 = 1000 + 500 + 100 + 100 + 50 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 = MDCCLXIII

If 4 and/or 9 occur in a number, the subtraction rule must be applied (e.g. 900 = 1000 - 100 = M - C = CM). The Roman numerals I, X, C are used for subtraction:
1940 = 1000 + 900 + 40 = M + CM + XL = MCMXL

How to write large Roman numerals

The largest Roman numeral was M (1000). The largest number that was expressed using Roman numerals was 3999. Various methods were used to express higher numbers, but they were not used uniformly and have not found much use to the present day. Sometimes they used a horizontal comma (called a vinculum) above the number, which indicated the multiplication of the written number by a thousand:
VIII = 8000

Another way of writing it was to put the smaller number before the larger one and multiply them. A dot separation or superscript notation was sometimes used for notation:
VM or V.M or VM = 5000
VIIC or VII.C or VIIC = 700

Zero

The numeral zero generally has no symbol, although the Romans knew the numeral 0 and its meaning well. For zero they used the term nullae, meaning nothing. The symbol for the digit 0 has a large role in positional systems of writing numbers (this is the one we use today). It was the absence of this symbol that prevented the gradual conversion of Roman notation to a positional system, and it was therefore replaced in practice by Arabic numerals during the 11th century.

Where Roman numerals are used

In the 17th century, it was customary in Europe to mark editions of books with Roman numerals. Similarly, Roman numerals were used to mark the date of buildings. To this day, Roman numerals are still used in the film industry to indicate the date of a film.

They are used to number books, movies, sporting events, historical events, centuries, months of the year, the sequential number of the quarter, etc. Generally, the use of Roman numerals means that something has a continuation or history. When writing Roman numerals in summaries (e.g. the table of contents of a book in which chapters are numbered with these numerals), the numerals are ordered from the left vertical and the accompanying text is written from the new vertical set by the longest number.

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