Chinese numerals
The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nagari rotated the lines clockwise, ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३.