In Roman numerals, what is the length of Rome's ancient history? ?

Question

a. CCLXXVII 277

b. MDCXXXV 1615

c. MCCXXIX 1229

d. MMIX 2009

I can fiigure out the Roman numerals- I just cant find the actual date?

Answer 1

b.

Answer 2

According to the tradition, Romulus founded Rome in 753 B.C.

According to history, the Roman Empire (centered around Rome) fell once and for all in 476 A.D.

Therefore, since 753 + 476 = 1229 years,  c. is the right answer (the corresponding Roman numeral above is correct).

Additional notes:  A) The total sum of years is actually 1229, because we have to count also the starting year (753 BC) as one, up to 1 BC, both included, and the end year (476 AD) from 1 AD, both included again; in other words, it isn't a regular algebraic operation;    B)  IV is 4 in classical times also, and so on, and not only in Christian times; consequently, the Roman numeral in the answer c. is confirmed to be correct.

Answer 3

Well there is a problem here. No one can agree on exactly how long the empire lasted. Its foundation is mythical, and when it ended is debatable. The Republic was founded late in the 6th century BC, which is probably a more accurate assessment than the legend of Romulus and Remus. Many accept 476 AD as the end of the empire, but some offer other dates. The latest possible date to give is 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Turks. I agree that C is probably the best answer for the question as posed.

By the way, the use of a smaller numeral before a larger one to count backwards was not used by the Romans. It seems to have been a convention of later Christians writers. The Roman way of writing it would be MCCXXVIIII.

Answer 4

c is the closest, but I'm afraid you or whoever set the question is one year out.  753 + 476 does not give the period 753 BC to 476 AD, because there is no year zero - thus, 1BC-1AD is one year, not two.  The figure you want is 1228 - MCCXXVIII.