El Djem

Originally known by the Roman's as Thysdrus, this city was built on the site of a Punic settlement. It rose to its peak during the second century AD when it prospered as an exporter of olive oil. Its famous amphitheatre was built at the start of the third century AD, and Thysdrus became one of the most important centres in the region after Carthage (it was of a similar size to Sousse, known as Hadrumetum to the Romans). Disaster struck the city in 238 AD, when a revolt again Rome began there and failed. Gordian I committed suicide and Roman troops suppressed the revolt by destroying Thysdrus.

By the early 3rd century AD, when the amphitheatre was built, Thysdrus rivalled Hadrumetum (modern Sousse) as the second city of Roman North Africa, after Carthage. However, following the abortive revolt that began there in 238 AD, and Gordian I's suicide in his villa near Carthage, Roman troops loyal to the Emperor Maximinus Thrax destroyed the city. It never really recovered.

El Djem's amphitheatre was built by Gordian I and it originally seated 35,000. It was well preserved until the 17th century, when stones were taken from it to build the Great Mosque in Kairouan. It was subsequently also blasted with cannons during fighting between the Ottomans and the Turks. The ruins of the amphitheatre in El Djem became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.