The Colosseum officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater was a gift by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty to the Roman people as he tried to bring order, peace, promote public welfare and generally gain the favour of the people. He promised a new amphitheatre where the public could enjoy gladiatorial combats and other forms of entertainment. This was around A.D. 70 -72.
At A.D. 80, the Colosseum was ready! it took almost 10 years to build ( which relatively is a quick time period for a project of such a grand scale).  Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus officially dedicated the Colosseum and launched it with a festival including 100 days of games.
Measuring  620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheatre in the Roman world.
One particular thing about the col. was the uniqueness in the way it was built. The coliseum was built to sit close to 75,000 people but the amazing thing is the ease in access and exit. It is said that it took just about 15 mins for 75,000 to easily exit the col. after the games for the day (talk about the Ux of buildings ).
The Colosseum had a lot of games, but the 2 most popular were the venationes ( hunts) & munera (gladiator games). The hunts were a fight of man against beast. Lions, tigers, alligators, bears were pitted against hunters or each other to fight to the death.
The gladiatorial games were the most popular. The gladiators were mostly slaves, criminals or prisoners of war. The gladiators were trained and matched based on their fighting ability to fight to the death. There were 15 known levels of gladiators all with a different type of armour and weapon.
In addition to hunts and gladiatorial fights, the Colosseum hosted theatrical plays and chariot races.
After four centuries of active use, the magnificent arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18th century it was used as a source of building materials. By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of the arena’s marble seats and its decorative elements. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have proceeded over the years, as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists from all over the world.
