function ConvertFrom-RomanNumeral
{
  <#
    .SYNOPSIS
        Converts a roman numeral to a number.
    .DESCRIPTION
        Converts a roman numeral - in the range of I..MMMCMXCIX - to a number.
    .PARAMETER Numeral
        A roman numeral in the range I..MMMCMXCIX (1..3,999).
    .INPUTS
        System.String
    .OUTPUTS
        System.Int32
    .NOTES
        Requires PowerShell version 3.0
    .EXAMPLE
        ConvertFrom-RomanNumeral -Numeral MMXIV
    .EXAMPLE
        "MMXIV" | ConvertFrom-RomanNumeral
  #>
    [CmdletBinding()]
    [OutputType([int])]
    Param
    (
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
                   HelpMessage="Enter a roman numeral in the range I..MMMCMXCIX",
                   ValueFromPipeline=$true,
                   Position=0)]
        [ValidatePattern("(?x)^
                         M{0,3}  # Thousands
                (CM|CD|D?C{0,3}) # Hundreds
                (XC|XL|L?X{0,3}) # Tens
                (IX|IV|V?I{0,3}) # Ones
                $")]
        [string]
        $Numeral
    )

    Begin
    {
        # This must be an [ordered] hashtable
        $RomanToDecimal = [ordered]@{
            M  = 1000
            CM =  900
            D  =  500
            CD =  400
            C  =  100
            XC =   90
            L  =   50
            XL =   40
            X  =   10
            IX =    9
            V  =    5
            IV =    4
            I  =    1
        }
    }
    Process
    {
        $roman = $Numeral + '$'
        $value = 0

        do
        {
            foreach ($key in $RomanToDecimal.Keys)
            {
                if ($key.Length -eq 1)
                {
                    if ($key -match $roman.Substring(0,1))
                    {
                        $value += $RomanToDecimal.$key
                        $roman  = $roman.Substring(1)
                        break
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    if ($key -match $roman.Substring(0,2))
                    {
                        $value += $RomanToDecimal.$key
                        $roman  = $roman.Substring(2)
                        break
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        until ($roman -eq '$')

        $value
    }
}