History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s17.6

v1.c7.s17.6

**Arabic References.** *Ibn Wahshiya (855).* In his work, *Ancient alphabets and hieroglyphic characters explained*, etc., Ibn Wahshiya gives three forms of Hindu numerals as three species of Hindu alphabets.¹ It seems that the forms were well known in his time in Arabia. In the first set of these forms, dots are used as zeros in the now customary way among the Arabs; in the second set the dots are superposed,² while in the third loops are attached to the ordinary symbols for the units.³ Karpinski thinks that the use of loops was probably the invention of Wahshiya.