Where was the number zero born?

KohakuDo you know where the number zero was born? It has a very long history.

The answer in 30 seconds

Let me tell you the story in order.

The idea of zero as a number you can calculate with is said to have grown in India. In 628, the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta wrote rules for using zero as a number in a book. It is regarded as the first document to discuss zero as a number, and zero later spread to Europe through the Arabic-speaking world.

Marks for empty places existed in many cultures

Marks for "nothing here" were used in several ancient cultures. In Babylonia and among the Maya, for example, a mark was used to show a place in a number, such as the tens place or the hundreds place. But it only meant "this place is empty." It was not a number you could add or subtract.

Brahmagupta wrote zero as a number

The idea of zero as a number is said to have grown in India. In 628, the Indian astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupta explained in his book Brahmasphutasiddhanta that zero is the answer you get when you subtract a number from itself. He also wrote that adding or subtracting zero leaves a number unchanged, and that multiplying by zero gives zero. It is regarded as the first document to discuss zero as a number.

The first rules were not perfect

Those first rules were not perfect, though. Brahmagupta wrote that zero divided by zero is zero, which is not correct. Even so, histories of mathematics describe him as the first person on record to try to extend the rules of arithmetic to zero and to negative numbers.

A dot in an old manuscript, and a debate over its age

The dot that became the mark for zero also appears in an old Indian manuscript. The Bakhshali manuscript has many dots that show place values. In 2017, the University of Oxford announced that part of the manuscript dates from around the 3rd or 4th century. However, scholars are still debating the age of the manuscript, and it has not been settled. An earlier study had suggested around the 8th to 12th century.

The numerals 1 to 9 and a dot-shaped zero as written in the Bakhshali manuscript — A copy of the numerals in the Bakhshali manuscript. The dot at the far right is an old form of zero.Photo: Augustus Hoernle (1841-1918) / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

KohakuThe age of that old manuscript is still being debated, isn't it?

Through the Arabic-speaking world to Europe

Indian numerals then spread west through the mathematicians of the Arabic-speaking world. Al-Khwarizmi wrote a book on calculating with the Indian numerals and zero. To Europe, the Italian mathematician Fibonacci introduced the nine Indian numerals and the sign for zero in his 1202 book Liber Abaci (The Book of Calculation). But for a long time afterward, zero was not widely used.

Figure: How zero spread

Want to know more?

A zero carved on a temple wall in Gwalior, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in the 9th century was long considered the oldest place-value zero found in India.
The English words "zero" and "cipher" both trace back to the Arabic word "sifr."

KohakuRules for zero as a number were written in a book in India, and then spread through the Arabic-speaking world.

Quick quiz: test yourself

Which country wrote the rules for zero as a number?

Show the answer

Ancient Greece
India
Ancient Rome

India In 628, Brahmagupta of India wrote a book with rules for using zero as a number.

Sources

Carbon dating finds Bakhshali manuscript contains oldest recorded origins of the symbol 'zero'University of Oxford / Bodleian Libraries (GLAM)
Brahmagupta (598 - 670) - BiographyMacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews
A history of ZeroMacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews
Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci - BiographyMacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews

This article was written after checking the sources above as of 2026-10-03. Explanations may change as research progresses. Photo credits are shown below each photo.