004 第一个世界帝国

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Laurie was in Grandpa's study, looking for a book she needed for her history report

劳瑞在爷爷的书房里，寻找她历史报告需要的一本书。

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" Aha!" she said, grabbing a book called Alexander the Great

“啊哈！”她边说边抓起一本叫《亚历山大大帝》的书。

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Just then a leather-bound journal caught her eye

就在这时，一本皮面日记吸引了她的目光。

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When she pulled it from the shelf, a photograph fluttered to the floor

当她把它从书架上抽出来时，一张照片飘落到地板上。

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It was a photo of Grandpa standing among mysterious stone doorways. Grandpa looked very young

那是爷爷站在神秘石门之间的照片。爷爷看起来非常年轻。

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The title page of the journal read: Persepolis, 1979

日记的扉页上写着：波斯波利斯，1979年。

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It was written in Grandpa's handwriting. Laurie turned the page and started reading

那是爷爷的笔迹。劳瑞翻过页，开始读了起来。

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"'Jim and I just arrived in Iran this morning

“吉姆和我今天早上刚到伊朗。

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The drive from the airport was uneventful but hot

从机场出发的车程平淡无奇，但很热。

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I spent the whole bus ride wondering what the scenery might have looked like back in 500 BC — '"

我整个巴士车程都在想，公元前500年时的风景会是什么样子——”

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" Laurie?" Grandpa suddenly appeared in the doorway

“劳瑞？”爷爷突然出现在门口。

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" You scared me!" Laurie cried, slamming the journal shut

“你吓了我一跳！”劳瑞叫道，啪的一声合上日记。

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" What are you reading?" he asked." Ah, my journal from Iran!

“你在读什么？”他问道。“啊，我在伊朗的日记！”

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Your great-uncle Jim and I went to Persepolis the year it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site

你的吉姆叔公和我，在波斯波利斯被宣布为联合国教科文组织世界遗产的那一年去了那里。

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We had a terrific time exploring the ruins there."

我们在那儿探索遗址，度过了非常愉快的时光。”

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" What is Persepolis?" asked Laurie

“波斯波利斯是什么？”劳瑞问道。

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" It was the capital of the Persian Empire, which was the largest empire in the world from 559 BC to 330 BC

“它是波斯帝国的首都，从公元前559年到公元前330年，波斯帝国是当时世界上最大的帝国。

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It covered most of the Middle East, from Egypt to India, and was made up of many different provinces

它覆盖了中东大部分地区，从埃及一直到印度，由许多不同的省份组成。

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Although Persian rulers tried to do something impossible — unite the known world under one power —

尽管波斯统治者试图做一件不可能的事——将已知世界统一在一个权力之下——

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they were nearly successful because they allowed the conquered people to keep their freedoms

他们几乎成功了，因为他们允许被征服的人民保持自由。

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In fact, some call the Cyrus Cylinder — an ancient Persian document written on a clay cylinder — the first declaration of human rights

事实上，有些人将居鲁士圆柱——一份写在粘土圆柱上的古波斯文件——称为第一份人权宣言。

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It describes how Cyrus let the people in his empire have freedom of culture and religion

它描述了居鲁士如何让其帝国的人民享有文化和宗教自由。

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The ruler who founded the empire and conquered much of its territory was Cyrus the Great

建立这个帝国并征服其大片领土的统治者是居鲁士大帝。

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Many say he began the age of world-empire building, which would continue with the Greeks and Romans

许多人说，他开启了建立世界帝国的时代，后来由希腊人和罗马人延续。

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He had some good ideas about how to create and control an empire

关于如何建立和控制一个帝国，他有一些好主意。

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For example, he knew it was important to make sure the people you conquered were happy so they would not rise up against you

比如说，他知道确保被征服的人民满意很重要，这样他们才不会起来反抗你。

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So when Cyrus marched his troops into Babylon in 539 BC, he did not burn buildings, steal from people's homes, or run around killing people

因此，当居鲁士于公元前539年率军进入巴比伦时，他没有烧毁建筑，没有抢劫民宅，也没有到处杀人。

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He became known as a peaceful and generous ruler

他成了一位以和平和慷慨著称的统治者。

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He also freed the Jews who were held captive in Babylon and allowed them to return to Jerusalem

他还释放了被囚禁在巴比伦的犹太人，并允许他们返回耶路撒冷。

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Cyrus declared each conquered area a province and asked that all provinces pay him a yearly sum of gold and silver

居鲁士宣布每个被征服的地区为一个行省，并要求所有行省每年向他缴纳一定数额的金银。

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In return he promised to protect them from foreign invaders

作为回报，他承诺保护他们免受外敌入侵。

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This system worked out nicely for Cyrus, and he managed to build a wealthy empire."

这种制度对居鲁士很有效，他成功建立起一个富强的帝国。”

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" Did Cyrus build Persepolis?" Laurie asked, looking back at the photo

“波斯波利斯是居鲁士建的吗？”劳瑞看着照片问道。

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" No, Persepolis was built by a king named Darius the Great, who ruled from 522 BC to 486 BC

“不，波斯波利斯是由一位叫大流士大帝的国王建造的，他在公元前522年到公元前486年统治国家。

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Darius was called the Great because he continued to expand the empire's borders

大流士之所以被称为大帝，是因为他继续扩展了帝国的疆域，

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developed an organized system of rule, and improved the kingdom with major building projects

发展出了一套有组织的统治体系，并通过大型建筑工程改善了王国。

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In order to stay informed about his empire, Darius needed people to travel and report back to him

为了随时了解帝国的情况，大流士需要人们四处巡行并向他汇报。

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So he built a great road, called the royal road, which connected the provinces

所以他修建了一条宏伟的道路，称为皇家大道，连接了各行省。

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And this was way before the Romans built their famous roads, mind you

提醒你一下，这可远在罗马人修建他们那些著名道路之前呢。

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The royal road was useful for both transportation and communication

皇家大道对运输和交流都非常有用。

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He also finished organizing the provinces — something that was begun during Cyrus' time

他还完成了行省的划分——这项工作早在居鲁士时代就已经开始了。

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And he appointed governors to manage each province

他还任命了总督来管理每个行省。

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This way he could make sure each province paid him the right amount of gold and silver

这样一来，他就能确保每个行省都向他缴纳适量的金银。

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But most famously Darius built a huge palace complex in Persepolis

但大流士最出名的，是他在波斯波利斯修建的巨大宫殿群。

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This served as the center of government and a guest reception area

这里是政府的中心，也是接待宾客的地方。

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The plans for Persepolis — a city that aimed to impress all visitors with its riches and splendor —

波斯波利斯的规划——旨在以其财富和壮丽震撼所有来访者——

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were so grand that Persepolis couldn't be completed within Darius' lifetime

是如此宏伟，以至于在大流士有生之年都未能完工。

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It was actually finished by his son, the next king

实际上，是由他的儿子，即下一位国王，最终建成的。

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There were palaces, great halls, a treasury, and more."

那里有宫殿、宏大的厅堂、一座宝库，还有其他许多建筑。"

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" But Grandpa, you wrote: ' It is a shame that Alexander the Great laid waste to this magnificent city

"可是爷爷，你写着：‘亚历山大大帝摧毁了这座宏伟的城市，真是太可惜了。

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I can only imagine what Persepolis might look like today, if only it had been preserved as a historic treasure,'"

要是它当初能作为历史珍宝被保存下来，我只能想象今天的波斯波利斯会是什么样子，’"

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Laurie interrupted, reading from the journal

劳瑞读着日记，打断了爷爷的话。

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" I'm writing a report on Alexander the Great for homework. What did he do to Persepolis?"

"我家庭作业要写一篇关于亚历山大大帝的报告。他对波斯波利斯做了什么？"

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" Well, the Persians and the Greeks eventually fought against each other

"嗯，波斯人和希腊人最终互相打起来了。

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Clashes began during Darius' time, continued through his son's rule

冲突始于大流士时期，经过他儿子的统治仍在继续，

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and then finally, around 330 BC, the warrior Alexander the Great invaded and conquered Persia

最后，大约在公元前330年，勇士亚历山大大帝入侵并征服了波斯。

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When he reached Persepolis, he robbed the treasury, set fire to the palaces, and destroyed the sculptures —

他到达波斯波利斯后，洗劫了宝库，放火烧了宫殿，还毁坏了雕塑——

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especially any that showed images of Persian kings

尤其是那些有波斯国王形象的雕塑。

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His conquests marked the end of the Persian Empire, and the dawn of the Greek

他的征服标志着波斯帝国的终结，以及希腊时代的开端。

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Laurie, have you heard of the Greek historian Herodotus?

劳瑞，你听说过希腊历史学家希罗多德吗？

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We know all this history because Herodotus traveled the Middle East collecting stories and recording information

我们之所以知道所有这些历史，是因为希罗多德走遍了中东地区，收集故事并记录信息。

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He had a curious mind and a great interest in the actions and politics of humans

他有一颗好奇心，对人类的行动和政治非常感兴趣。

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He wrote about the Persian Empire and Persian wars in a big book called The Histories

他在一部名为《历史》的大部头著作中，记载了波斯帝国和波斯战争。

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A great writer, he wrote as if he were telling someone a story face-to-face and often mixed in entertaining stories from his travels

他是一位伟大的作家，写起东西来就像面对面给人讲故事一样，而且常常把他旅途中有趣的故事也混进去。

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I wish I could write such interesting histories," Grandpa said

真希望我也能写出这么有趣的历史，"爷爷说道。

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" But your history stories are just like that, Grandpa!" Laurie said." They're always interesting!"

"可是你的历史故事就是那样的呀，爷爷！"劳瑞说。"你的故事总是那么有趣！"

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" Thanks, Laurie." Grandpa smiled." Maybe someday you can help me organize these journal entries

"谢谢你，劳瑞。"爷爷笑了。"也许哪天你能帮我整理这些日记。

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There's a lot of history in here," he said, lightly tapping his journal

这里面历史可多了，"他轻轻拍着日记本说道。

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" I'd be honored." Laurie grinned." But for now I think I'm pretty busy with Alexander."

"那会很荣幸的。"劳瑞咧嘴一笑。"不过现在嘛，我觉得光忙活亚历山大就够我受的了。"

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She picked up the book and walked out of the study

她拿起书，走出了书房。