Arabic numerals are actually Indo-Arabic, originating from Indian mathematicians Aryabhat and Brahmagupta. Arabs adopted the system through trade, and it spread to Europe. The numerals evolved from Arabic letters.
You might think that Arabic numerals began in an ancient Middle Eastern civilization, but you would be wrong. Our numbering system, known today as Indo-Arabic numerals, has long been attributed to two Indian mathematicians, Aryabhat and Brahmagupta. These mathematicians lived in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, before the rise of the Arab empire. In the West, the system was originally known as Arabic numerals because Arabs had already adopted the system, almost certainly through east-west trade. From Arabia, it spread to Europe and beyond. Early Europeans attributed numbers to Arabs, but Arabs referred to them in ancient writings as Hindu numbers.
Learn more about Hindu-Arabic numbers:
The digits 0 to 9 are the most common number representation in the world.
The widespread European acceptance of Hindu-Arabic numerals was hastened by the invention of printing.
There is evidence that the numerals we use today evolved from Arabic letters.
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