The Arabic numerals we use today (0, 1, 2, 3, ..., 9) originated in ancient India around the 5th century CE. Indian mathematicians¹ developed a decimal positional number system that included the revolutionary concept of zero (Sanskrit: śūnya). These numerals spread to the Islamic world through trade and scholarly exchanges by the 7th–8th centuries. Arab mathematicians, notably² Al-Khwarizmi (9th century), refined and popularized the system in his works. European scholars later adopted the numerals during the 12th century via translations of Arabic texts, particularly through Fibonacci's Liber Abaci (1202). Despite initial resistance, their efficiency in calculation led to global adoption³, and they became known as "Arabic numerals" due to their transmission route.

现代通用的阿拉伯数字（0, 1, 2, 3, ..., 9）实际起源于古印度。约公元5世纪，印度数学家发明了包含零（梵语：śūnya）的十进制位值计数法。7-8世纪，这一系统通过贸易和学术交流传入阿拉伯地区。阿拉伯学者（如9世纪的花剌子米）在其数学著作中进一步完善并推广了该体系。12世纪，欧洲人通过翻译阿拉伯文献（如斐波那契的《计算之书》）引入了这些数字。尽管初期遭遇抵制，但其计算便捷性最终促使全球普及。因传播路径之故，西方将其称为“阿拉伯数字”。