“Bene lava!” (“Wash yourself well [in blood]”) the crowd roars as the gladiator dispatches another victim, thus earning his right to live another day. If you listen closely in El Jem’s coliseum, the walls still whisper the chants of the enflamed Roman masses as they spurred on the fights in the inner oval. The Roman invention of the coliseum and its gory shows illustrates the citizens’ insatiable thirst for blood…even if tasted vicariously. Shows lasted an entire day and featured hunts pitting wild animals against their prey, human huntsmen and ferocious beasts, defenseless criminals and man-eating lions as well as gladiatorial combats. Animals, hunters and gladiators were purchased by emperors and wealthy citizens who were proud to offer such entertainment to their subjects. These combats fulfilled the double purpose of entertainment as well as giving citizens an arena in which to display anger and passion in acceptable forms. The shows were used unashamedly by the ruling class to keep their vast urban proletariats contented and the whole ritual played an important part in cementing the paternalistic relationship between ‘ruler’ and ‘ruled’. The Roman saying went, “The more they scream in their seats, the less they scream in the streets”.

The coliseum that stands today is actually El Jem’s third, built in the city between 230 –240 A.D. It is considered to be the largest Roman monument left in North Africa and ranks as the 3rd largest amphitheatre in the world (after those of Rome and Capua in Italy). El Jem could hold between 27 000 and 30 000 spectators, the magnitude being even more impressive considering that the stones were quarried 40 kilometers away in Salakta. Not only is El Jem better preserved than Rome’s Coliseum (due to Tunisia’s arid climate) but it is also more elaborate as it benefited from architectural advances made in earlier construction.

These days, El Jem is a quiet town that scarcely hints that its coliseum was once the crowning glory of ancient Thysdrus. ‘Thysdrus’ is Berber in origin (meaning “passage” or “crossroad”). Indeed, the city is located at the intersection of the main roads connecting Carthage, the southern Sahel plains, the eastern harbors and the hinterland. Given its inhospitable climate, its strategic commercial situation must have been the sole reason for its prosperity. El Jem reached the peak of its wealth in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD as the trade of grain, olive oil, deluxe ceramics and other goods grew exponentially. By this time, it had become the hub of Roman roads that distributed goods between the hinterland and Eastern harbors. El Jem competed with Sousse (ancient Hadrumetum) for the 3rd ranking city in Africa after Carthage and Lepcis. Rich mosaic-filled villas sprang up and other amenities such as a circus and temples were erected.

Eventually the city’s prosperity was at the source of its downfall: In 238 AD, the citizens revolted against the level of Roman taxation and killed the tax collector. They proclaimed Gordianus I (an eighty-year-old proconsul who governed Africa) as the Emperor of Rome. Gordianus’ army was soon defeated by the 3rd legion stationed in Numidia and he committed suicide. El Jem was punished suffering destruction and fires from which it could never raise again.
After the early 5th century A.D., the amphitheatre was no longer used. It did, however, act a number of times as a fort first by Byzantine troops, then a coalition of Berbers and later, Tunisian rebels who revolting against ottoman rulers.

Mosaic museum
Ancient Thydrus was a thriving market town along a popular trade route. The town has a reputation of having ‘put on airs’ to impress its visitors and homes were lavishly decorated wall and ceiling paintings as well as floors carpeted in sumptuous mosaics. The mosaics that have been discovered in El Jem are some of Tunisia’s finest and used exceptionally small tiles. Mosaics in El Jem’s museum depict vicious amphitheatre hunts, wild animals, the logos of sporting clubs that sponsored events as well as mythological scenes dedicated to the cults of wine, fertility and trade. The tiny tiles were laid with unsurpassed workmanship and leave visitors with the feeling that, even centuries later, the animals in the mosaics are ready to lunge from of the stone settings. The mosaic museum showcases the works of art found directly behind the museum in an area of particularly luxurious villas. Some mosaics remain ‘in situ’ and beg a walk through the area of villa remains.