The city of walls: Constantinople - Lars Brownworth

Translator: tom carter Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

Prevoditelj: Irma Komljenović Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

The most important walls in western history aren't even in the West.

Najvažnije zidine zapadnjačke povijesti uopće se ne nalaze na zapadu.

They surround the modern city of Istanbul, Constantinople as the Romans called it.

Okružuju današnji grad Istanbul, koji su Rimljani zvali Konstantinopol.

And for a thousand years, the fate of Europe depended on them.

Tisuću je godina sudbina Europe ovisila o njima.

Constantinople was designed to be the center of the world.

Konstantinopol je dizajniran da bude središte svijeta.

When the frontiers of the Roman Empire began to crumble in the 4th Century,

Kad su se granice Rimskog Carstva počele raspadati u 4. stoljeću,

the capital was moved to the cultured, wealthy, and still stable East.

glavni je grad pomaknut na kulturni, bogati i još uvijek stabilni istok.

There, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the hub of the major trade routes of the ancient world,

Tamo, na križanju Europe i Azije, čvoru važnih trgovačkih putova antičkog svijeta,

the Emperor Constantine built his city.

car Konstantin izgradio je svoj grad.

This was the city of libraries and universities,

To je bio grad knjižnica i sveučilišta,

20 times the size of London or Paris at the time.

veličinom 20 puta veći od tadašnjeg Londona ili Pariza.

It contained the priceless knowledge of the classical world which was fading in the West.

Sadržavao je neprocjenjivo znanje svijeta klasike koji je blijedio na zapadu.

To protect this masterpiece from its many enemies,

Kako bi zaštitio to remekdjelo od svojih brojnih neprijatelja,

Constantine's successors built the finest defensive fortifications ever made.

Konstantinovi su nasljednici sagradili najbolje obrambene zidine ikada.

The first line of protection was a moat 60 feet wide and 22 feet deep,

Prva je obrambena linija bio rov širok 18 i dubok 7 metara

stretching all four miles from coast to coast.

koji se protezao 4 milje, od obale do obale.

Pipes from inside the city could fill it at the first sight of the enemy,

Cijevi iz unutrašnjosti grada mogle su ga napuniti

na prvi pogled na neprijatelja,

and a short wall protected archers who could fire at the soaked soldiers trying to swim across.

a nizak je zid štitio strijelce koji su pucali na vojnike

koji su pokušavali preplivati rov.

Those who were lucky enough to clear the moat had to contend with an unceasing barrage from the 27 foot outer wall above.

Oni koji su imali dovoljno sreće da pređu rov morali su se nositi

sa neprestanom baražom sa vrha 8 metara visokog vanjskog zida.

Arrows, spears, or far worse, Greek fire -- an ancient form of napalm that would ignite on contact

Strelice, koplja ili još gore: grčka vatra - antički oblik napalma, zapaljiv na dodir

and couldn't be extinguished by water -- would rain down on them.

koji se ne može ugasiti vodom - padale bi na njih.

Squads of Roman defenders would carry portable flame throwers,

Skupine rimskih branitelja nosile bi prenosive bacače plamena,

spraying anyone trying to climb out of the moat.

ciljajući na svakoga tko je pokušao izaći iz rova.

The terrified victims would leap back, only to find that they still burned underwater.

Prestravljene žrtve uskakale su nazad sve dok nisu shvatile da gore i pod vodom.

At times, the Romans would also mount siphons onto the ramparts,

Tu i tamo, Rimljani bi postavili sifone na bedeme,

and launch clay pots full of Greek fire from catapults at an invading army.

pa iz katapulta lansirali glinene posude pune grčke vatre na osvajačku vojsku.

The front lines would turn into an inferno,

Prve linije pretvorile bi se u pakao

making it appear as if the earth itself was on fire.

jer bi se činilo da sama zemlja gori.

If, by some miracle, the outer wall was compromised,

Ako bi, nekim čudom, vanjski zid bio oslabljen,

attackers would be faced with the final defense: the great inner wall.

napadači bi bili suočeni sa finalnom obranom: velikim unutrašnjim zidom.

These walls were wide enough to have four men ride side by side,

Te su zidine bile dovoljno široke da četvorica po njima jašu jedan kraj drugog,

allowing troops to be rushed wherever they were needed.

što je dopuštalo trupama da brzo dospiju ondje gdje su potrebni.

Attilla the Hun, destroyer of civilizations, who named himself the Scourge of God,

Atila Hun, razarač civilizacija, koji je sam sebe prozvao Bičem Božjim,

took one look at them and turned around.

jednom ih je pogledao i okrenuo se.

The Avars battled the walls uselessly til their catapults ran out of rocks.

Avari su besmisleno napadali zidine dok im nije ponestalo kamenja za katapulte.

The Turks tried to tunnel under them, but found the foundations too solid.

Turci su pokušali prokopati tunel, no temelji su bili previše čvrsti.

The Arabs tried to starve the city into submission,

Arapi su pokušali izgladnjivanjem grada doći do predaje,

but ran out of food themselves and had to resort to cannibalism.

no samima im je ponestalo hrane pa su pribjegli kanibalizmu.

It took the guns of the modern world to finally bring them down.

Bilo je potrebno moderno oružje da ih se napokon sruši.

In 1453, the Turks brought their super weapon:

1453., Turci su donijeli svoje super oružje:

a monster cannon that could fire a 15 hundred pound stone ball over a mile.

zvjerski top koji je mogao ispaljivati kamene kugle teške 680 kg više od milje.

Together with more than a hundred smaller guns,

U kombinaciji sa više od stotinu manjih topova,

they kept up a steady bombardment day and night.

održali su stalnu danonoćnu paljbu.

A section of the old walls collapsed, but even in their death throes they proved formidable.

Dio starih zidina je srušen, no čak su se i u smrtnim bolovima pokazali korisnima.

The rubble absorbed the shock of the cannonballs better than the solid wall.

Ruševine su bolje apsorbirale udarce topovskih kugli od čvrstog zida.

It took a month and a half of continuous blasting to finally open a breach.

Bio je potreban mjesec i pol neprestane paljbe za otvaranje prolaza.

The last Roman Emperor, Constantine the 11th, drew his sword

Zadnji rimski car, Konstantin 11., izvukao je svoj mač

and jumped into the gap to stop the onrushing horde,

i skočio u pukotinu kako bi zaustavio nadolazeće horde,

disappearing into legend.

nestavši u legendi.

The city was taken, and the Roman Empire finally disappeared.

Grad je osvojen, a Rimsko je Carstvo u potpunosti nestalo.

But those broken walls had one last gift.

No ti su slomljeni zidovi imali još jedan dar.

As the survivors fled the doomed city, they brought with them their precious books and their ancient traditions.

Preživjeli koji su bježali iz osuđenog grada

sa sobom su ponijeli dragocjene knjige i njihove antičke tradicije.

They traveled west to Italy, reintroduced the Greek language and learning to western Europe, and ignited the Renaissance.

Putovali su zapadno do Italije, ponovno upoznali zapadnu Europu

s grčkim jezikom i učenjima te započeli renesansu.

Thanks to Constantinople's walls, that pile of brick and marble that guarded them for so long,

Zahvaljujući zidinama Konstantinopola,

hrpi cigle i mramora koja ih je tako dugo čuvala,

we still have our classical past.

još uvijek imamo klasičnu prošlost.