History of colosseum

The Colosseum in Rome is one of the world’s most amazing buildings. The Colosseum in Rome was the largest and most advanced amphitheatre the ancient world had ever seen. In 75 CE, Emperor Vespasian started construction on the Flavian Amphitheater, known today as the Colosseum. Built over a 10-year period during the reign of Emperor Vespasian and completed in AD80. The Flavian Amphitheater received the name “Colosseum” from the nearby statue of Nero, called the “Colossus.”

The main purpose of the Colosseum was to house the gladiatorial games which had come to be a typical feature of Roman culture in the imperial capital and throughout the Roman world. Other events recorded here include mock naval battles, animal hunts, and the execution of criminals.

When the Colosseum was completed, it became the new center of ancient Roman amusement. When finished, the Colosseum’s dimensions were approximately 189 meters by 156 meters and it was 48 meters high.

It had a seating capacity for about 45,000 to 55,000 spectators. The amphitheater also had eighty arched openings that served as entrances and exits. Seventy-six numbered entrances allowed common spectators inside. The common spectators were given a numbered token that corresponded to one of the numbered entrances.

According to the 7th century prophecy by the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede: “As long as the Colosseum exists, so will Rome, and when the Colosseum falls, Rome too will fall; and when Rome falls, so will the world”. In the late 16th century, Pope Sixtus V, the builder of Renaissance Rome, tried to transform the Colosseum into a wool factory, with workshops on the arena floor and living quarters in the upper stories. But owing to the tremendous cost, the project was abandoned after he died in 1590.
History of colosseum