The concept of zero was born in India. The decimal notation, which includes the concept of zero, was established around the 5th century. When zero was introduced, represented by a dot or a circle, the way of expressing numbers and calculation methods changed significantly.

In the early 7th century, Brahmagupta wrote that "any number multiplied by zero is zero" and "adding or subtracting zero from any number does not change its value." The Indian numeral system was later introduced to Europe in the 10th century and became known as "Arabic numerals." This system was far superior to the Roman numerals that were used in Europe at that time. For example, the number 487 must be written as CCCCXLXXXVII in Roman numerals. The decimal notation was revolutionary because it could represent any number of digits using just ten symbols.