Most of us have heard of the historical Roman Colosseum and the hundreds of magnificent battles that took place here. Many of us have seen gladiators portrayed as heroic and great. But do you know exactly how brutal the fights were and the gallons of innocent blood that was shed within the walls of the Colosseum?

The era was 70-72 A.D. when Emperor Vespasian first had the Colosseum specially made. The purpose of the infamous arena was to house extreme and wild fights for public entertainment. But not everything that occurred inside the Colosseum was just fun and games.

Slaves and serious criminals were among some of the primary people sent into the arena. They were forced into battling and essentially killing their opponent. Some slaves would have to face off against each other knowing that only one of them would be allowed to walk out of there alive. All ages were subject to such treatment, as children and elders were not excluded. Even female slaves were involuntary sent into the arena to fight, and some women were brave enough to voluntarily join in on the battles.

Female participation was quite common until about 200 A.D. when women were expelled from such activities and no longer able to participate. Though women were eventually taken from the games, thousands of others continued to suffer over the course of about 400 years. Christians were among the many victims put into the Colosseum merely to be killed as part of the entertainment. They were tortured and subject to cruelty. Some were mauled by wild animals, while others were crucified.

An alarming number of people, many of which innocent, were brutally slain. For the entertainment of the Roman people, more than 400,000 men and women were killed. Not to mention the estimated 1,000,000 animals that were also brought to an early demise. Back then watching such violent and merciless acts was just like watching a movie to many of the ancient Romans. The events that took place inside the Colosseum were a norm that should have never been.