The city of walls: Constantinople - Lars Brownworth

Translator: tom carter Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

Translator: Wieka Barathayomi Reviewer: Prameswari Rahmanu

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

Tembok terpenting dalam sejarah Barat tidak berada di Barat.

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

Tembok ini mengelilingi kota Istanbul, orang Romawi menyebutnya Konstantinopel.

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

Dan selama seribu tahun, nasib Eropa bergantung pada tembok ini.

Constantinople was designed to be the center of the world.

Konstantinopel dirancang untuk menjadi pusat dunia.

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

Ketika batas-batas Kekaisaran Romawi mulai runtuh pada abad ke-4,

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

ibu kota dipindahkan ke Timur yang berbudaya, kaya, dan masih stabil.

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

Di sana, di persimpangan Eropa dan Asia, pusat rute perdagangan utama dunia kuno,

the Emperor Constantine built his city.

Kaisar Konstantinus membangun kotanya.

This was the city of libraries and universities,

Kota ini dikenal akan perpustakaan dan universitas,

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

20 kali luas London atau Paris pada saat itu.

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

Kota ini berisi pengetahuan tak ternilai tentang dunia klasik yang pudar di Barat.

To protect this masterpiece from its many enemies,

Untuk melindungi mahakarya ini dari musuh,

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

penerus Konstantinus membangun benteng pertahanan terbaik yang pernah dibuat.

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

Garis perlindungan pertama adalah parit selebar 18,2 meter dan sedalam 2,7 meter,

stretching all four miles from coast to coast.

membentang 6,4 km dari pantai ke pantai.

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

Pipa-pipa dari kota dapat mengisinya segera setelah musuh terlihat,

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

dan tembok rendah pelindung para pemanah yang siap menyerang musuh basah kuyup

karena mencoba berenang menyeberang.

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

Mereka yang sukses menyeberang parit harus berjuang memanjat tembok 8,2 meter.

Panah, tombak, atau Greek fire -- napalm kuno yang akan menyala jika terkena

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

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

dan tidak dapat dipadamkan dengan air -- akan menghujani mereka.

Pasukan pertahanan Romawi akan membawa pelempar api portabel,

Squads of Roman defenders would carry portable flame throwers,

spraying anyone trying to climb out of the moat.

menyemprot siapa saja yang mencoba memanjat keluar dari parit.

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

Korban yang takut akan melompat mundur, tapi ternyata terbakar di dalam air.

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

Kadang, Romawi juga memasang saluran sifon di benteng,

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

dan melontarkan pot tanah liat berisi Greek fire ke arah pasukan penyerang.

The front lines would turn into an inferno,

Barisan depan akan berubah menjadi neraka,

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

tampak seolah-olah bumi terbakar.

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

Jika, ada keajaiban, tembok luar dirusak,

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

penyerang akan menghadapi pertahanan akhir tembok dalam yang besar.

Tembok ini cukup lebar untuk memuat empat orang berjalan berdampingan,

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

allowing troops to be rushed wherever they were needed.

memungkinkan pasukan untuk dikerahkan ke mana pun mereka dibutuhkan.

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

Attila Sang Hun, perusak peradaban, yang menyebut dirinya Sang Murka Tuhan,

took one look at them and turned around.

melihat tembok ini dan berbalik.

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

Pasukan Avars gagal mendobrak tembok ini hingga ketapel mereka kehabisan batu.

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

Turki membuat terowongan di bawah tembok, tapi ternyata fondasinya terlalu kokoh.

The Arabs tried to starve the city into submission,

Pasukan Arab berusaha menaklukan dengan membuat kota kelaparan,

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

tapi mereka sendiri kehabisan makanan dan terpaksa melakukan kanibalisme.

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

Dibutuhkan senjata dunia modern untuk merobohkannya.

In 1453, the Turks brought their super weapon:

Pada 1453, Turki menggunakan senjata super mereka:

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

meriam monster yang menembakkan bola batu 226,7 kg sejauh 43,5 km lebih.

Together with more than a hundred smaller guns,

Juga ratusan senjata yang lebih kecil,

they kept up a steady bombardment day and night.

mereka terus melakukan pengeboman siang dan malam.

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

Sebagian tembok tua runtuh, meski nyawa taruhannya, mereka terbukti tangguh.

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

Reruntuhan menyerap goncangan bola meriam lebih baik daripada dinding kokoh.

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

Butuh satu setengah bulan peledakan hingga akhirnya celah terbuka.

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

Kaisar Romawi terakhir, Konstantinus ke-11, menarik pedangnya

dan melompat ke celah untuk menghadapi gerombolan yang bergerak maju,

and jumped into the gap to stop the onrushing horde,

disappearing into legend.

menghilang menjadi legenda.

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

Kota ini direbut dan Kekaisaran Romawi akhirnya lenyap.

But those broken walls had one last gift.

Namun tembok yang rusak ini punya satu hadiah terakhir.

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

Para penyintas melarikan diri dan membawa buku berharga dan tradisi kuno mereka.

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

Mereka pergi ke Italia, memperkenalkan bahasa Yunani dan belajar ke Eropa Barat,

dan menyalakan Renaisans.

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

Berkat tembok Konstantinopel, tumpukan bata dan marmer

yang menjaga mereka begitu lama,

we still have our classical past.

kita masih memiliki masa lalu klasik.