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Fibonacci brings Arab numbers to Europe

Leonardi Fibonacci, or Leonardo of Pisa, was an Italian math­em­atician from a wealthy mer­chant family, who pop­ularised the Hindu-​​Arab numeral system in Europe through his book Liber abaci or Book of Cal­cu­lation, a treatise on cal­culus. At the time, the western world was still using Roman numerals.

The intro­duction of the Hindu-​​Arabic system helped to boost the credit market as it sim­plified the cal­cu­lation of interest pay­ments. Fibonacci’s works, including the famous « Fibonacci sequence », are still used today in market finance.