Were Christians martyred in the Colosseum?

I have been reading some history about the largest standing amphitheater in the world, *The Colosseum.* I read that **Pope Benedict XIV** consecrated the structure because many Christians were supposedly martyred in it despite there being no historical evidence to support that claim. It is natural to conceive the idea that Rome was originally hostile to Christians centuries before its first-ever Christian Emperor, **Constantine**. Is it true that the Romans put Christian converts in Rome inside the Colosseum alongside wild animals to be eaten alive? Their crime being **failing to pay reverence to Roman gods** Many graphic depictions of this have been done and most allege that the Roman emperor Nero did it. ![Illustration of the Colosseum with Christians about to be attacked by lions, and other animals ][1] In the case of Polycarp, who was burned alive, the people of Smyrna are even said to have joined in enthusiastically to find wood for the fire.