Amphitheatrum Carthaginis
About
Carthage's amphitheater went up west of the Byrsa hill at the end of the 1st or start of the 2nd century CE, with an inscription confirming it was already in service by 133-139 CE, just after this map's snapshot. It seated around 30,000, one of the largest arenas in Roman Africa. Christian tradition later placed the martyrdoms of Perpetua and Felicity here in 203 CE. Under construction or newly finished as Trajan's reign closed in 117 CE.
What happened here
Doors open early and the programme runs all day. Morning is animal hunts, staged with scenery hauled up through trapdoors from the corridors below. Midday is executions, and it is the hour when the seats thin out and people go for lunch. The afternoon is the gladiators, matched by type and record like boxers, refereed, and stopped when a man raises a finger. Most fights are not to the death — a trained fighter is expensive — but a decision can go the other way and the crowd is consulted. Seating is strictly by rank: officials at the front, women at the top. Awnings are worked by sailors detailed for the job. Sand is spread thick and replaced between shows, and the whole building smells of it.
In ancient writing
- Anonymous (redactor, incorporating Perpetua's own prison diary), Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis 18-21
Early-3rd-century (c. 203 CE) martyrdom account that narrates in detail the execution of Perpetua, Felicity, and companions by beasts and sword in the amphitheatre of Carthage.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →