History vs. Egypt’s "most powerful" pharaoh - Jessica Tomkins

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Krivokuca

Pharaoh Ramesses II reigned for almost 70 years

Faraon Ramzes II je vladao skoro 70 godina

in the 13th century BCE.

tokom XIII veka p.n.e.

He presided over a golden age of Egyptian prosperity.

Predvodio je zlatno doba egipatskog prosperiteta.

But was he a model leader,

Međutim, da li je bio uzoran vođa

or a shameless egomaniac and master of propaganda?

ili besramni egomanijak i majstor propagande?

Order! Order! Who do we have on the stand? Ramesses II?

Mir! Mir! Koga imamo na optuženičkoj klupi? Ramzesa II?

Ahem, I believe you mean "The strong bull, protector of Egypt,

Khm, verujem da mislite na „Snažnog bika, zaštitnika Egipta,

who subdues foreign lands;

pokoritelja tuđinskih zemalja;

rich in years, great in victories, chosen by Ra— whose justice is powerful—

bogatog u godinama, slavnog u pobedama, koga je Ra odabrao, čija je pravda silna -

Ramesses, beloved of Amun."

Ramzesa, Amonovog miljenika.”

But you may refer to him as Ramesses the Great.

Možete ga pak zvati Ramzes Veliki.

Ramesses, Ramesses— I think I've heard of him.

Ramzes, Ramzes - mislim da sam čuo za njega.

"Let my people go!"

„Pusti narod moj!”

Yes, Your Honor, he was the infamously stubborn pharaoh of Exodus,

Da, časni sude, on je zloglasni tvrdoglavi faraon iz Knjige izlaska,

who forced enslaved Hebrews

koji je terao porobljene Jevreje

to build out his extravagant capital city of Pi-Ramesses.

da grade njegovu ekstravagantnu prestonicu Per-Ramzes.

Objection, there's no archaeological evidence

Prigovor, ne postoje arheološki dokazi

that Ramesses used forced labor in his construction projects.

da je Ramzes koristio prisilni rad u svojim građevinskim projektima.

Egyptians relied on highly trained artisans and craftsmen

Egipćani su se oslanjali na izuzetno obučene majstore i zanatlije

to build their cities and monuments.

koji su zidali gradove i spomenike.

And menial labor, like quarrying and moving stones,

A fizički posao, poput vađenja i prenosa kamena

was done by military soldiers and foreign mercenaries—

su obavljali vojnici i strani plaćenici -

all of whom were compensated for their work.

a svima njima je rad bio plaćen.

So he's not the pharaoh from Exodus?

Dakle, on nije Faraon iz Knjige izlaska?

It's hard to say for certain.

Teško je reći sa sigurnošću.

According to some timelines,

Prema nekim vremenskim odrednicama,

Ramesses is the best candidate for that particular pharaoh.

Ramzes je najbolji kandidat za baš tog faraona.

But there's no evidence of any Hebrew population in Egypt during his reign,

Nema pak dokaza o prisustvu Jevreja u Egiptu tokom njegove vladavine,

and certainly no records of a revolution or mass migration

i zasigurno nema zapisa o revoluciji ili masovnoj migraciji

like the one described in Exodus.

koja je opisana u Knjizi izlaska.

Is that really so surprising?

Da li je to zaista iznenađujuće?

It's not like Ramesses kept records of any other time he was defeated.

Ramzes nije nužno beležio slučajeve kada je poražen.

What do you mean?

Na šta misliš?

Our "great" pharaoh here operated one of the largest propaganda machines

Ovaj naš „veliki” faraon je upravljao jednom od najvećih propagandnih mašinerija

in ancient history.

u drevnoj istoriji.

Almost all pharaohs relied on propaganda to control their country,

Gotovo svi faraoni se se oslanjali na propagandu kako bi kontrolisali zemlju,

and Ramesses had particularly big sandals to fill.

a Ramzes je imao naročito velike sandale da popuni.

His father, Seti I, led Egypt to a period of great wealth and stability

Njegov otac, Seti I, uveo je Egipat u period velikog bogatstva i stablinosti

that Ramesses worked hard to maintain.

i Ramzes je vredno radio da to održi.

Through propaganda, yes, but also military glory.

Kroz propagandu, da, ali i vojnu slavu.

More like military aggression.

Više kroz vojnu agresiju.

By the end of Seti's reign,

Seti je do kraja svoje vladavine

he had established peace with the neighboring Hittites

osigurao mir sa susednim Hetitima

by guaranteeing Egyptian control over a sought-after region called Kadesh.

tako što je garantovao Egiptu kontrolu nad priželjkivanom oblašću po imenu Kadeš.

But in the fifth year of his reign, Ramesses broke those agreements.

Međutim, u petoj godini svoje vladavine, Ramzes je prekršio te dogovore.

It wasn't the most peaceful decision,

Nije se radilo o naročito miroljubivoj odluci,

but Ramesses believed a military victory would aid his efforts

ali Ramzes je verovao da bi vojna pobeda pomogla u njegovim naporima

to restore Egypt's reputation.

da Egiptu vrati ugled.

And he was right!

I bio je u pravu!

His victory over the Hittites cemented Ramesses' persona

Njegova pobeda nad Hetitima je zacementirala Ramzesovu ličnost

as a heroic pharaoh of old.

kao herojskog faraona starog carstva.

Yeah, except he didn't even win!

Da, samo što uopšte nije pobedio!

His supposed victory was actually a stalemate

Njegova navodna pobeda je zapravo bila pat pozicija,

in which the pharaoh's arrogance almost cost Egypt the entire war.

pri čemu je faraonova arogancija umalo koštala Egipat gubitka čitavog rata.

When two Hittite spies told Ramesses the enemy had fled in fear,

Kada su dva hetitska špijuna rekla Ramzesu da je neprijatelj pobegao od straha,

he let his guard down, allowing his men to be ambushed.

postao je nepažljiv i dozvolio da mu ljudi upadnu u zasedu.

He played right into the Hittite's trap and almost lost everything.

Uskočio je pravo u zamku Hetita i gotovo da je sve izgubio.

Yet the official story Ramesses had chiseled across Egypt

Pa ipak, zvanična priča koju je Ramzes isklesao po Egiptu

cast himself as the battle's greatest hero.

ga prikazuje kao najvećeg heroja u bici.

Military achievements were important for legitimizing a pharaoh's power,

Vojna dostignuća su bila važna za legitimizaciju faraonske moći,

even if that meant a bit of exaggeration.

čak i kada se radilo o blagom preuveličavanju.

A bit? You can't trust anything this guy says!

Blagom? Ne može se verovati ničemu što ovaj lik kaže!

If it wasn't for the Hittite's conflicting record,

Da nije oprečnih hetitskih zapisa,

we'd still be buying Ramesses' propaganda.

i dalje bismo nasedali na Ramzesovu propagandu.

I propose that this court cannot judge any historical figure's legacy

Predlažem da ovaj sud ne sudi o ostavštini nijedne istorijske ličnosti

by the stories they tell about themselves.

na osnovu priča koje pričaju o sebi.

That seems reasonable to me.

To mi zvuči razumno.

Fair enough. How's this record then—

Pošteno. Šta je sa ovim zapisom -

the first recorded peace treaty in archaeological history

prvi zabeleženi mirovni dogovor u arheološkoj istoriji

signed by Ramesses and the Hittites.

su potpisali Ramzes i Hetiti.

"Peace treaty" is pretty generous.

„Mirovni dogovor” zvuči prilično velikodušno.

Ramesses begrudgingly agreed to a mutual defense contract,

Ramzes je preko volje pristao na obostrani ugovor o odbrani,

where Egyptians and Hittites would work together if attacked by an external enemy.

gde bi Egipćani i Hetiti sarađivali ukoliko ih napadne spoljni neprijatelj.

And what's wrong with that?

A šta nije u redu s tim?

This peaceful end to the conflict marked the beginning

Ovo mirno okončanje konflikta je označilo početak

of Ramesses' prosperous reign—

Ramzesove prosperitetne vladavine -

a golden age of Egyptian power and wealth.

zlatno doba egipatske moći i bogatstva.

True, but we have no idea if this wealth trickled down to everyday Egyptians

Istina, ali nemamo pojma da li se ovo bogatstvo slivalo do običnih Egipćana

or just financed Ramesses' vain attempts to achieve immortality through stone.

ili su njime finansirani Ramzesovi tašti napori da postigne besmrtnost u kamenu.

He spent his entire reign pouring money into ego projects.

Proveo je celokupnu vladavinu prosipajući novac u egocentrične projekte.

And one of the most famous, Abu Simbel, wasn't even in Egypt!

A jedan od najčuvenijih, Abu Simbel, uopšte nije bio u Egiptu!

Abu Simbel was in Nubia to showcase Egypt's strength

Abu Simbel je bio u Nubiji kako bi prikazao snagu Egipta

and discourage a Nubian revolution.

i obeshrabrio nubijsku revoluciju.

Besides, pharaohs were expected to invest in building projects for the gods.

Osim toga, od faraona se očekivalo da ulažu u građevine posvećene bogovima.

Right, "for the gods," which Ramesses was not.

Tačno, „posvećene bogovima”, a Ramzes to nije bio.

Pharaohs typically occupied a status between gods and mortals,

Faraoni su obično imali status između bogova i smrtnika,

but the location of Ramesses' statue inside Abu Simbel

ali pozicija Ramzesove statue unutar Abu Simbela

positions him as their supposed equal.

ga prikazuje kao navodno njima ravnog.

He even tore down existing temples to reuse their bricks

Čak je i rušio postojeće hramove kako bi koristio njihove cigle

in monuments to himself!

za spomenike posvećene sebi!

He tore down temples built by Akhenaten,

Rušio je hramove koje je gradio Ehnaton,

a pharaoh who'd attempted to impose monotheism.

faraon koji je pokušao da nametne monoteizam.

By destroying those temples,

Uništavanjem tih hramova,

Ramesses reinforced his commitment to Egypt's traditional religion.

Ramzes je učvrstio svoju posvećenost tradicionalnoj religiji Egipta.

That doesn't account for why he frequently erased other pharaohs' names on monuments

To ne opravdava zašto je često brisao sa spomenika imena drugih faraona

and replaced them with his own.

i menjao ih svojim.

Hey, what the...?

Hej, šta koji...?

Even pharaohs who had short reigns had numerous statues made of themselves—

Čak su i faraoni koji su kratko vladali imali brojne statue posvećene sebi -

and Ramesses ruled for almost seven decades.

a Ramzes je vladao gotovo sedam decenija.

Well, he definitely made a lasting impression.

Pa, definitivno je ostavio neizbrisiv trag.

Let's face it, Your Honor, would we even be talking about him today if he hadn't?

Budimo pošteni, časni sude, da li bismo govorili o njemu danas da nije?

It's often said that history is written by the winners,

Često se kaže da istoriju pišu pobednici,

but in this courtroom,

ali u ovoj sudnici,

a winning record never guarantees the outcome.

niz pobeda nikad ne garantuje krajnji rezultat.