The amphitheatre was built around 238 AD in Thysdrus, located in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis in present-day El Djem, Tunisia. It is one of the best preserved Roman stone ruins in the world, and is unique in Africa. As other amphitheatres in the Roman Empire, it was built for spectator events, and it is one of the biggest amphitheatres in the world. The estimated capacity is 35,000, and the sizes of the big and the small axes are respectively 148 metres (486 ft) and 122 metres (400 ft). The amphitheatre is built of stone blocks, located on a flat ground, and is exceptionally well conserved.[1]
The amphitheatre of El Jem is the third amphitheatre built on the same place. The belief is that it was constructed by the local proconsul Gordian, who became emperor as Gordian II. In the Middle Ages, it served as a fortress, and the population sought shelter here during the attacks of Vandals in 430 and Arabs in 647. In 1695, during the Revolutions of Tunis, Mohamed Bey El Mouradi made an opening in one of the walls to stop the resistance of the followers of his brother Ali Bey al-Muradi who gathered inside the amphitheater.[2]
It is believed that the amphitheatre was used as a saltpetre manufacture in the end of the 18th and in the 19th century. Around 1850, the breach in the wall was enlarged by Ahmad I ibn Mustafa to approximately 30 metres (98 ft). In the second half of the 19th century, the structure was used for shops, dwellings, and grain storage.[3]
American sportswear company Nike used this location in 1996 to shoot a television commercial titled "Good vs Evil", which depicts a gladiatorial-style soccer game set in a Roman amphitheatre. Football players from around the world, including Eric Cantona, Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos defend "the beautiful game" against a team of unsportsmanlike demonic warriors, which ends with Cantona receiving the ball from Ronaldo, pulling up his shirt collar as was his trademark, and delivering the final line, "Au Revoir", before striking the ball which punches right through the demon goalkeeper.[5]
^ ab"Amphitheatre of El Jem". UNESCO. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
^Nossov, Konstantin (2011). Gladiator: The Complete Guide to Ancient Rome's Bloody Fighters. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 129–130. ISBN9780762777334.
^Bomgardner, David L. (2013). The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre. Routledge. pp. 150–151. ISBN9781134707393.
^"Amphitheatre of El Jem (El-Jem) - 2021 All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)". Tripadvisor. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
^Andrews, David L.; Silk, Michael (10 November 2004). "Global gaming". In Jackson, Steven J.; Andrews, David L. (eds.). Sport, Culture and Advertising: Identities, Commodities and the Politics of Representation (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 186. doi:10.4324/9780203462003. ISBN978-1-134-29880-8.
^Balderas, Christopher (30 August 2018). . TheTravel. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
External linksedit
April 08, 2024
amphitheatre, arabic, قصر, الجم, romanized, qaṣr, jamm, oval, amphitheatre, modern, city, djem, tunisia, formerly, thysdrus, roman, province, africa, listed, unesco, since, 1979, world, heritage, site, unesco, world, heritage, siteinterior, locationthysdrus, d. The Amphitheatre of El Jem Arabic قصر الجم romanized Qaṣr al Jamm is an oval amphitheatre in the modern day city of El Djem Tunisia formerly Thysdrus in the Roman province of Africa It is listed by UNESCO since 1979 as a World Heritage Site 1 Amphitheatre of El JemUNESCO World Heritage SiteInterior of the Amphitheatre of El JemLocationThysdrus El Djem Mahdia Governorate TunisiaCriteriaCultural iv vi Reference38bisInscription1979 3rd Session Extensions2010Area1 37 ha 0 0053 sq mi Buffer zone26 42 ha 0 1020 sq mi Coordinates35 17 47 N 10 42 25 E 35 296388888889 N 10 706944444445 E 35 296388888889 10 706944444445Location of Amphitheatre of El Jem in Tunisia Contents 1 History 2 References in popular culture 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editThe amphitheatre was built around 238 AD in Thysdrus located in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis in present day El Djem Tunisia It is one of the best preserved Roman stone ruins in the world and is unique in Africa As other amphitheatres in the Roman Empire it was built for spectator events and it is one of the biggest amphitheatres in the world The estimated capacity is 35 000 and the sizes of the big and the small axes are respectively 148 metres 486 ft and 122 metres 400 ft The amphitheatre is built of stone blocks located on a flat ground and is exceptionally well conserved 1 The amphitheatre of El Jem is the third amphitheatre built on the same place The belief is that it was constructed by the local proconsul Gordian who became emperor as Gordian II In the Middle Ages it served as a fortress and the population sought shelter here during the attacks of Vandals in 430 and Arabs in 647 In 1695 during the Revolutions of Tunis Mohamed Bey El Mouradi made an opening in one of the walls to stop the resistance of the followers of his brother Ali Bey al Muradi who gathered inside the amphitheater 2 It is believed that the amphitheatre was used as a saltpetre manufacture in the end of the 18th and in the 19th century Around 1850 the breach in the wall was enlarged by Ahmad I ibn Mustafa to approximately 30 metres 98 ft In the second half of the 19th century the structure was used for shops dwellings and grain storage 3 References in popular culture editIt was featured in films such asMonty Python s Life of Brian and the television series Long Way Down 4 American sportswear company Nike used this location in 1996 to shoot a television commercial titled Good vs Evil which depicts a gladiatorial style soccer game set in a Roman amphitheatre Football players from around the world including Eric Cantona Ronaldo Paolo Maldini Luis Figo Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos defend the beautiful game against a team of unsportsmanlike demonic warriors which ends with Cantona receiving the ball from Ronaldo pulling up his shirt collar as was his trademark and delivering the final line Au Revoir before striking the ball which punches right through the demon goalkeeper 5 The fourth episode of The Amazing Race 1 concluded at the amphitheatre 6 Gallery edit nbsp Aerial view 1986 nbsp Exterior nbsp Cavea nbsp Arena nbsp Hypogeum nbsp Closing concert of the 2013 Festival international de musique symphonique d El JemSee also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amphitheatre of El Jem List of Roman amphitheatresReferences edit a b Amphitheatre of El Jem UNESCO Retrieved 5 May 2016 Nossov Konstantin 2011 Gladiator The Complete Guide to Ancient Rome s Bloody Fighters Rowman amp Littlefield pp 129 130 ISBN 9780762777334 Bomgardner David L 2013 The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre Routledge pp 150 151 ISBN 9781134707393 Amphitheatre of El Jem El Jem 2021 All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go with Photos Tripadvisor Retrieved 2021 05 12 Andrews David L Silk Michael 10 November 2004 Global gaming In Jackson Steven J Andrews David L eds Sport Culture and Advertising Identities Commodities and the Politics of Representation 1st ed Routledge p 186 doi 10 4324 9780203462003 ISBN 978 1 134 29880 8 Balderas Christopher 30 August 2018 20 Of The Sickest Places Featured On The Amazing Race That We Can Visit Too TheTravel Archived from the original on 5 November 2020 Retrieved 7 January 2020 External links edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amphitheatre of El Jem amp oldid 1180607741, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
