The Colosseum is nearly 2,000 years old, built between 70 and 80 AD by three Roman emperors from the Flavian dynasty. It stands as the largest amphitheater ever built, a monument to Roman engineering genius and also to the empire’s bloodiest entertainment.
Unsplash License Spencer Davis/UnsplashUnderstanding the Colosseum’s history transforms your visit from looking at old stones to grasping the scale of what Romans accomplished. This wasn’t just a stadium. It was built in under 10 years using tens of thousands of forced laborers, could seat 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, and hosted spectacles so elaborate they included flooding the arena for mock naval battles.
Here’s the complete story of how and why the Colosseum came to be, what happened there, and how it survived nearly two millennia.
History
The Colosseum was built between 70 and 80 AD, taking approximately 8 to 10 years to complete. Three emperors from the Flavian dynasty oversaw its construction: Vespasian who started it, his son Titus who opened it, and his younger son Domitian who added the finishing touches.
Here’s how the construction unfolded year by year:
69 AD
Vespasian wins the civil war and becomes emperor. He decides to drain Nero’s private lake and build a public amphitheater on the site.
70 AD
Vespasian and his son Titus conquer Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem. They bring back spoils from the temple and around 100,000 Jewish prisoners.
70-72 AD
Construction begins on the Colosseum. Jewish slaves do the heavy labor while skilled Roman citizens handle the specialized work. The foundation and first two tiers start taking shape.
72-79 AD
Work continues rapidly on the upper tiers. Travertine stone is quarried from Tivoli, 20 miles away, and transported to Rome. Iron clamps hold the massive stones together.
79 AD
Emperor Vespasian dies. The first three stories are completed. His son Titus becomes emperor and takes over the project.
80 AD
Titus inaugurates the Colosseum with 100 days of games. Over 9,000 animals are killed and around 2,000 people die during the opening celebrations. The amphitheater can now seat 50,000 to 80,000 spectators.
81 AD
Titus dies after a short reign. His younger brother Domitian becomes emperor and continues work on the Colosseum.
81-96 AD
Domitian adds the crucial finishing touches. He builds the hypogeum (underground chambers) where gladiators and animals wait before fights. He also adds the fourth and highest seating level to increase capacity.
96 AD
Domitian is assassinated. The Colosseum is now fully complete with all its features: underground chambers, arena floor with trap doors, four levels of seating, and elaborate entrance systems.
So while most people say the Colosseum was built in 80 AD, that’s only when Titus opened it to the public. The structure wasn’t fully finished until Domitian completed the underground chambers and upper levels in the 80s and 90s AD. The entire project from start to finish spanned about 26 years across three emperors, though the actual heavy construction only took about a decade.
Three emperors of the Flavian dynasty built the Colosseum: Vespasian who started it, Titus who completed and opened it, and Domitian who added the finishing touches.
But the actual construction relied on an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 Jewish slaves captured during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. These prisoners of war did the brutal physical labor, dragging massive travertine stones from quarries in Tivoli, about 20 miles outside Rome, and hauling them to the construction site.
The skilled work came from Roman citizens. Architects, engineers, artists, and specialized craftsmen were paid to handle the complex engineering, decorative elements, and technical aspects that made the Colosseum’s architecture so advanced.
This combination of forced slave labor for the heavy lifting and skilled Roman craftsmanship for the specialized work is how the Colosseum was built so quickly. The Flavian emperors had unlimited manpower and resources to throw at the project.
Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum for two connected reasons: to win over the Roman people and to erase the hated Emperor Nero from memory.
After Nero’s suicide in 68 AD, Rome went through a brutal civil war. When Vespasian emerged victorious, he needed to restore his legitimacy and unite the people. Nero had built an enormous palace complex called the Domus Aurea (Golden House) that included a private artificial lake, taking valuable public land for his own luxury.
Vespasian drained Nero’s lake and built the Colosseum on that exact spot. The symbolism was deliberate. Where Nero had taken land for himself, Vespasian gave it back to the people as a place for public entertainment. This showed Romans that their new emperor was a man of the people, not another tyrant.
The Colosseum’s construction was also funded by spoils from the Siege of Jerusalem. Vespasian and Titus had defeated Jewish forces and looted the Second Temple, bringing back enormous wealth to Rome. Using that money to build a public amphitheater was another way to celebrate Rome’s military victories and keep citizens focused on entertainment rather than politics.
So the Colosseum served political purposes (establishing Vespasian’s legitimacy), social purposes (providing free entertainment to keep people happy), and symbolic purposes (demonstrating Rome’s power and wealth to the world).
Colosseum by the numbers
100,000
300 tons
60,000-100,000
8-10 years
157 feet
height (48 meters)
50,000-80,000
The Colosseum was built using about 100,000 cubic meters of travertine limestone, which workers quarried in Tivoli and transported 20 miles to Rome. The structure also used tuff (volcanic rock), brick-faced concrete, wood, and tiles.
Instead of mortar, Roman engineers used an estimated 300 tons of iron clamps to hold the massive stones together. This created a flexible structure that could withstand earthquakes better than if the stones had been cemented in place.
The engineering was revolutionary for its time. The Colosseum is freestanding, meaning it doesn’t rely on a hillside for support like earlier amphitheaters. Roman architects used a complex system of barrel vaults and groin vaults to distribute the enormous weight. This vault system allowed them to build a structure 157 feet high (48 meters) that could hold 50,000 to 80,000 people without collapsing.
Some historians believe four separate building contractors each handled one quadrant of the structure, which explains how construction moved so fast. With multiple teams working simultaneously and unlimited labor from Jewish prisoners, the Romans built the Colosseum in less time than it took to construct many medieval cathedrals.
The exterior featured three levels of arches framed by columns in different classical orders (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian from bottom to top). This arrangement of columns later became a fundamental principle of Renaissance architecture.
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The Colosseum’s Original Name
The Romans didn’t call it the Colosseum. They knew it as the Flavian Amphitheater (Amphitheatrum Flavium), named after the Flavian dynasty of emperors who built it.
So where did “Colosseum” come from? The name appeared centuries later, likely derived from the Colossus of Nero, a 100-foot bronze statue that stood near the amphitheater. Nero had originally commissioned this massive statue of himself, showing his typical ego. After Nero’s death, Emperor Vespasian changed the statue’s head to represent the sun god Sol.
Emperor Hadrian later moved the statue next to the amphitheater in 124 AD, using 24 elephants to transport it. The statue is long gone, and nobody knows what happened to it or exactly what it looked like, but its nickname stuck to the building nearby.
By the Middle Ages, people were calling the amphitheater “Colosseum” after the colossal statue. That’s the name that survived to today, even though the actual statue disappeared centuries ago.
What Happened At The Colosseum
The Colosseum hosted blood sports, gladiatorial combat, animal hunts, executions, and elaborate staged performances. These weren’t occasional events but regular entertainment that defined Roman culture for nearly 400 years.
Gladiatorial Games
Gemini/GeminiGladiator fights were the main attraction. These weren’t random brawls but highly trained combat between skilled fighters who spent years learning their craft. Different types of gladiators specialized in different weapons and fighting styles, creating varied matchups that kept spectators engaged.
Contrary to popular belief, not every fight ended in death. Gladiators were expensive to train and maintain, so killing them constantly would have been wasteful. However, deaths certainly occurred, especially for less successful fighters or when the crowd or emperor demanded it.
How many gladiators died in the Colosseum? Historians estimate thousands over the centuries, but exact numbers are impossible to determine. During major games like the 100-day inaugural celebration or Emperor Trajan’s 123-day games, hundreds could die in a single event.
Successful gladiators became celebrities, similar to modern athletes. They had fans, endorsements, and could win their freedom if they survived long enough. Some free men even volunteered to become gladiators for the fame and potential wealth.
Animal hunts
Romans imported exotic animals from across their empire for elaborate hunting spectacles called venationes. Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, ostriches, and countless other species were brought to Rome and killed in the arena.
The scale of death at the Colosseum:
- Inaugural games (80 AD): 9,000 animals killed in 100 days
- Trajan’s games (107 AD): 11,000 animals killed in 123 days
- Over 400 years: Estimated hundreds of thousands of animals and tens of thousands of people died
For context, that’s roughly 90 animals per day during the inaugural games alone.
The scale of animal slaughter was staggering. During the inaugural games alone, 9,000 animals died. Emperor Trajan’s games killed thousands more. This went on for centuries, leading to the local extinction of several species in parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
Animal hunts typically happened in the morning, before the gladiatorial contests. Trained hunters called bestiarii would fight the animals, sometimes in elaborate staged scenarios that recreated famous myths or historical battles.
Public executions
Midday was execution time. Condemned criminals were killed in the arena as public punishment and entertainment. Methods included being thrown to wild animals, burned alive, or forced to fight each other without proper weapons or training.
These executions served as both spectacle and deterrent, showing Romans what happened to criminals and enemies of the state. The theatrical nature of many executions, sometimes staged to reenact mythological deaths, reveals how Romans blended entertainment with brutality.
Elaborate Performances
Elaborate performances
Gemini/GeminiThe Colosseum hosted more than just fights. Romans staged elaborate theatrical productions, including reenactments of famous battles, dramas based on mythology, and even mock naval battles.
For naval battles (naumachiae), the arena was flooded with water. How exactly Romans waterproofed the floor remains debated among historians, especially since the underground chambers were added later. Early accounts describe water battles during the inaugural games, suggesting the arena could be flooded before Domitian built the hypogeum.
The 36 trap doors in the arena floor allowed for stunning special effects. Animals and gladiators could suddenly appear from below, scenery could be raised and lowered, and the whole production could be choreographed like modern theater.
The Colosseum’s Capacity
The Colosseum could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, with most estimates settling around 65,000 for a typical event.
Unsplash License Merakist/UnsplashWho sat where: Roman Social Hierarchy
What made this capacity remarkable was how quickly the building could fill or empty. The Colosseum had 76 numbered entrances for regular spectators, plus four special entrances for the emperor, senators, vestal virgins, and other VIPs.
Thanks to an elaborate system of corridors and stairways called vomitoria (from the Latin word meaning “to disgorge”), the entire Colosseum could fill or empty in about 15 minutes. This crowd management system was incredibly advanced for ancient times and helped prevent the crushes and stampedes that plagued other public venues.
The numbered arches you can still see today helped spectators find their seats. Your pottery shard ticket would show which numbered entrance to use and which section to head to once inside, making the whole process surprisingly organized for 50,000+ people.
Did You Know That? Facts
The Colosseum was built in just 8-10 years
The Colosseum was completed in less than a decade. Medieval cathedrals often took centuries. This speed came from 60,000-100,000 Jewish prisoners providing labor, plus spoils from Jerusalem funding the project.
The word “Vomit” comes from the Colosseum
The corridors were called vomitoria (from Latin “to spew forth”) because they let crowds flow in and out quickly, like the building was spewing out people. The English word “vomit” shares this Latin root, but Romans never used these passages for actual vomiting.
The Colosseum is an ellipse, not a circle
The Colosseum measures 189 meters (615 feet) long and 156 meters (510 feet) wide. This elliptical shape gave better sight lines and structural stability than a circular design.
Animals were hunted to extinction
The demand for exotic animals was so intense that several species disappeared from their natural habitats. North African elephants and lions from certain regions were hunted to extinction to supply Roman arenas.
Seating showed your status
Where you sat revealed your social class. Emperors and senators sat at ground level with the best views. Women and slaves sat in the highest, furthest rows with the worst views.
Part of it became St. Peter’s Basilica
When building St. Peter’s in the 15th century, builders used the Colosseum as a convenient “quarry.” The marble you see in St. Peter’s today partly came from the Colosseum.
The Colosseum survived because of a mistaken belief
Pope Benedict XIV declared in 1749 that Christians were martyred at the Colosseum (likely historically inaccurate). But this belief led to the building being consecrated as sacred, which stopped further demolition.
It’s a botanical garden
Botanists have catalogued hundreds of different plant species growing throughout the Colosseum’s ruins. The structure has become an accidental nature preserve with a unique ecosystem.
Visiting The Colosseum Today
The Colosseum is now Italy’s most visited monument (aside from Vatican City, which is technically a separate country). Over 7 million people visit annually, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
In 2007, the Colosseum was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, recognizing its historical importance and architectural achievement.
Understanding the Colosseum’s history makes visiting it much more meaningful. Instead of just seeing ancient ruins, you’ll recognize where gladiators entered through the Gladiator’s Gate, where emperors sat, and how the hypogeum’s trap doors worked.
What You’ll Experience
🏛️ Main levels: Walk through the seating tiers where 50,000 Romans watched the games. See the numbered entrances still visible today.
⚔️ Arena Floor: Stand where gladiators fought (special access ticket required). Look down into the underground chambers below.
🔻 Underground (Hypogeum): Explore the tunnels where gladiators and animals waited (tour required). See the trap door systems and staging areas.
🏛️ Roman Forum & Palatine Hill: Included with Colosseum ticket. Walk through the political center of ancient Rome.
Planning Your Visit
→ Need more help planning? Check out Complete Colosseum Guide for information on what to see, opening hours, and practical tips for your visit.
Quick Links: Colosseum Guide | Opening Hours | Tickets | Tours
FAQs
How many people died in the Colosseum?
Exact numbers are unknown, but historians estimate tens of thousands of people died over the Colosseum’s 400+ years of use. During the inaugural games alone, around 2,000 people died. Hundreds of thousands of animals were also killed.
When did gladiator fights end at the Colosseum?
Gladiatorial contests ended around 404-438 AD, depending on which historical account you follow. Animal hunts continued until 523 AD. After that, it became too expensive to maintain and the games stopped.
Why does the Colosseum have holes in it?
The holes are from stolen iron clamps. Romans used an estimated 300 tons of iron clamps to hold the stones together. In the Middle Ages, people pried out the iron to make weapons and tools, leaving behind all those holes you see today.
How much of the original Colosseum is left?
About one-third of the original structure still stands. The rest was destroyed by earthquakes (especially in 847 and 1231 AD), fires, and centuries of looting for building materials.
How old is the Colosseum?
The Colosseum is nearly 2,000 years old.
Did the Colosseum have a roof?
Not a permanent roof, but it had a retractable awning called the velarium. This massive canvas covering could be pulled across most of the structure to provide shade and weather protection. Roman sailors operated this complex system using their ship-rigging experience.