The Colosseum is the famous arena where the legendary mortal battles of living creatures and the execution of criminals took place. This was a place whose purpose was to inspire the greatness of Rome, as well as to remind each of the visitors present about his place in the complex hierarchical social system of ancient Roman society. The Roman emperor who built the Colosseum did not initially think about power. He was chosen by the legionnaires - as often happened in the history of ancient Rome. Now a new challenge lay ahead - to conquer the crowd. The one who built the Colosseum, laying the foundation for the greatness of the Flavian family, understood how to conquer the hearts and minds of fellow citizens. A little bit about the history of the construction of one of the bloodiest arenas.
Nero
In the year 64 e. in Rome there was a great fire. The despotic emperor Nero decided to take advantage of this misfortune . He decided to build a huge residence in the city center, called the Golden House. It included an unfinished palace, a 36-meter bronze statue of Nero himself, an artificial lake (5 football fields), a huge park. The people suffering from exorbitant taxes should have paid for the construction.
In the end, the taxpayers' patience ran out - a riot began. Nero was declared an enemy of the people and committed suicide. The vicissitudes of the civil war enthroned Vespasian, who founded the Flavian dynasty.
All this small background allows us to understand why the Colosseum was built. The place was not chosen by chance. This is the center of Rome. Prior to this, amphitheaters were located on the outskirts of the city. Thus, his status as the most important entertainment complex not only of the city, but of the whole empire was emphasized. The second point, perfectly showing the populist strategy of conquering the location of Roman citizens - the place where the Colosseum was built.
To build such an object for entertaining citizens on the territory of the residence of the hated Nero is a public demonstration of care, protection, patronage.
The die was cast, the stakes were too high, there was no room for error.
The capture of Jerusalem
Vespasian - the emperor who built the Colosseum, pacified Judea and strengthened its power over Rome. However, at the very beginning of all these acts, he was at a crossroads. He was always distinguished by ambitiousness. The situation in which he found himself at the beginning of construction was new to him. The project required enormous resources, and the emperor Nero managed to devastate the treasury. An increase in the tax burden could provoke a social explosion, and the political situation did not allow delaying the construction of the amphitheater. In addition, the creation of new jobs in the economic crisis is another opportunity to strengthen their own power.
In April 70 AD e. Vespasian's eldest son Titus besieged Jerusalem. This talented military man, who repeatedly showed examples of personal courage on the battlefield, was able to conquer the city. The significance of this victory for Rome is difficult to overestimate.
Now all the riches of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem fell at the feet of the victor.
For those who built the Colosseum in Ancient Rome, Judea was another robbed country for which the ancient Roman proverb was true: “Woe to the vanquished.”
Drainage and drainage
The optimal site for the start of construction was the artificial lake located on the territory of the former entertainment complex of Nero. It was necessary to drain it. For this purpose, a ditch with a width of 50 and a depth of 6 meters was dug around the reservoir. Its bottom, the walls were laid with stone slabs, and the space between them was filled with a special waterproof solution.
The final diversion of water was made possible thanks to another canal dug and stretched over more than a kilometer. But it was too early to celebrate the victory. Rainwater accumulated at the bottom of the drained lake. For its successful abduction, there was an extensive network of channels built at an angle of 2 degrees. As a level, a trough recessed in the board was used. They poured liquid there and thus “caught” a horizontal line above the ground. After that, it only remained to measure the distance down. In such a simple but ingenious way, the underground channels were erected at an optimal angle.
Those who built the Colosseum were talented engineers, but this is far from all the revolutionary achievements that they used.
On the subject of slaves in the construction of the Coliseum
There is a well-known opinion that slave labor was widely used in the construction of the Coliseum. Truly fantastic numbers of 100,000 are sometimes called. Of course, slave labor was used. However, not all operations could be entrusted to a low-skilled worker, and there were neither resources nor time to train him directly at the production site.
One of the hallmarks of those who built the Colosseum is its high organization and production culture. For their time, the Romans were one of the most skilled builders. Therefore, Vespasian (and this is confirmed by the documents) preferred to sell most of the slaves captured as military booty in Jerusalem, and, having obtained fabulous money from this operation, hired experienced and skilled specialists.
Long before the conveyor
When the Colosseum was built in Rome, for a very long time this construction did not give rest not only to contemporaries, but also to many generations of descendants. The Romans applied three innovations, which were the basis necessary for the success of the construction of the complex.
The first innovative solution is arches designed specifically to support heavy weight. Several wedge-shaped blocks made up in a semicircle stand on two columns. The central stone absorbs the weight of the building, and then it is redistributed through the entire structure to the supporting columns on the sides. This makes it possible to withstand heavy loads. And if we add here that the space under the columns is free - this further reduces the weight of the entire building.
In total, there were 80 units on the outer ring of the first row. The same number on the second tier and on the third. The total number is 240. This arch complex was to have a very high level of standardization during its construction. That is, no matter which team made such an arch, it was suitable for any part of the object.
The idea of repetition and interchangeability of building elements from the very beginning dominated the plans of Roman architects. It could not be otherwise. Since a huge number of workers with different levels of professional skills had to work at one construction site.
Roman concrete
The second innovative solution, which helped, on the one hand, to reduce construction time, and on the other, to reduce the total weight of the amphitheater, is the use of concrete. His recipe is now almost forgotten. There are only vague references to Vitruvius. Mountain sand was used (black, carbuncle, gray and red). Without impurities of the earth, and yet it should crunch in the hand when rubbing.
The addition of lime gave the material elasticity. He took any necessary form (arch, arch). He grabbed quickly, had less weight than stone, and at the same time was waterproof. These qualities helped him occupy a worthy place in ancient Roman architecture.
But concrete could not solve all pressing issues. Builders still needed durable, and most importantly, lightweight building material.
The invention of red brick
When the Colosseum was built in Rome, red brick was only introduced into the construction. Terracotta (red clay) was known. They made roof tiles from it. During the experiments, she began to meet more often in the decoration.
Brick and concrete are the main materials used in the construction of this grandiose structure. The first tier was made of stone, since it was he who had to withstand the main load. The following floors were already made of brick and concrete.
Cranes
Despite the availability of high-quality materials, it was necessary to solve another crucial problem regarding the delivery of all the necessary elements to the required height. And for this, lifting mechanisms were required. Some of them, set in motion, have come to the present thanks to the muscular strength of a person. These are Trispastas and Polispastos.
These ideas were taken from the Greeks. The merit of the Romans is that they greatly improved the Greek heritage. Perhaps the most interesting invention is the stepping wheel, which significantly increased the power of the crane.
The inner diameter of such a wheel, reinforced with an iron strip, ranged from 4 to 6 meters, and its height was over 25 meters. A trained team could handle a load of up to 20 tons. Those who built the Colosseum then used these mechanisms to deliver animals and gladiators to the arena in time. But this was already under the emperor Domitian, who, in order to please the crowd, additionally built and equipped with everything necessary a dungeon.
Arena
She had a wooden coating strewn with sand. In order to organize a “colorful” battle, there was a two-story dungeon under it. Gladiators, animals, scenery slaves, and the rest of the attendants had to act as a single organism.
Even there is a rather controversial version that, if necessary, the available hydraulic mechanisms could easily flood the arena and delight guests with an exquisite naval battle. While she has no serious evidence, however, even without them, the scope of the action is amazing.
Answering the question about in which year the Colosseum was built in Rome, one cannot but note the professionalism and speed of the construction. In 72, work began, for which serious financial injections were needed. The looting of Jerusalem provided a financial opportunity to implement such an ambitious project without attracting additional funding. In 79, Vespasian died, and his son, who had recently ascended to the throne, gave the builders a deadline of another year.
80 is an answer to another burning question: at what Roman emperor the Colosseum was built. To be completely accurate, I didn’t build it, but I completed the last floor, using the lightest building material.
Emperor Titus sanctified him with his presence. He also attended to the construction of an additional 4 wooden tiers. Capacity increased. The figures are called up to 87,000 spectators.
Woe to the vanquished
Thanks to the cinema and the paintings, there was a very strong opinion that the life of the defeated gladiator depended on the whim of the crowd and the last word of the emperor. A raised finger signified life, and a finger down signified death. This is not entirely true. The gesture that cuts off the life of a fighter was different. In a frenzy, the crowd moved their thumb around their throats, thereby showing that the weak must be destroyed by cutting his throat, but these are just details known to a narrow circle of specialists.
To stir up a thirst for blood among the crowd in anticipation of the main action - the battle between people, the venators - gladiators fighting wild animals were called upon. The most famous of them is Karpofar, who killed 20 animals in one day. Bears, tigers, lions came out against such a fighter, armed with a spear and shield.
The brutal killing of animals, as well as humans, was not considered out of the ordinary. It is enough to recall in what century the Colosseum was built. It was a time when the power of Rome rested on its army, and the blood, death, pain and humiliation of other living beings was a prerequisite for achieving its own power. Because the enemy will not spare you. He will only laugh at your weakness.
Domitian
Emperor Domitian, who replaced his father and brother, breathed new life into the main brainchild of his family. And here involuntarily we again return to the question of under which emperor the Colosseum was built, but it is the one about which verses were composed. Where none of those present, including even the most direct participants in those events, knew what a new challenge awaits in the arena.
The element of surprise, introduced precisely during this period, did not let the fighters relax and tickled the nerves of the audience, grateful to their emperor. The latter shamelessly used this arrangement of his people, ordering to call himself "master and god." He went down in history thanks to numerous trials and subsequent executions on charges of "insulting greatness."
Senators killed the last of the Flavians, and even the adoration of the crowd, warmed up by the bloody spectacles of the Colosseum, did not save him. The true significance of this amphitheater in the life of ancient society can only be understood by a contemporary of those events. It is wrong to judge the customs and traditions of Rome from the perspective of modern man. An architectural monument that has survived to this day is the cultural heritage of mankind, even if it is so gloomy, bloody and sinister. Despite many years of research by scientists on the territory, construction and architectural features, the last point in questions related to the history of the Coliseum has not been set. And this is unlikely to happen in the near future.