Livy places the first Roman gladiator games (264 BC) in the early stage of Rome's First Punic War, against Carthage, when Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva had three gladiator pairs fight to the death in Rome's "cattle market" forum (Forum Boarium) to honor his dead father, Brutus Pera.

When did the gladiator fights happen?

It's believed that the first gladiatorial duels were held in the 3rd century BC, as part of the funeral rites of warriors and wealthy nobles. Slaves or condemned prisoners would fight to the death as a tribute to the fallen patrician.

When was the last known gladiator fight?

The last known gladiatorial fight in Rome was on 1 January 404 AD.