How the Mongols used horses to create an empire - William T. Taylor

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: Gia Hwang

People have been captivated by horses for a long time.

长久以来，人们一直为马匹所着迷。

They appear more than any other animal in cave paintings

3 万年前的洞穴壁画中，

它们比任何其它动物都出现得更频繁。

dating back 30,000 years.

But how did horses make the journey from wild animals

但马是怎么从野生动物

to ones humans could hitch themselves to and even ride,

演化为人们能够驾驭甚至乘骑的动物，

determining the fate of civilizations and dramatically altering history?

从而决定文明发展、戏剧性改变历史的？

Equids originally evolved in North America.

马科动物最早在北美进化而来，

Sometime after 4 million years ago,

在四百万年前之后的某段时间，

ancient equid species began trotting across the Bering land bridge.

古代马类动物开始逐渐通过白令陆桥，

Eventually, they spread through Eurasia and into Africa,

最终散布于欧亚大陆并进入非洲，

diversifying into the lineages that would lead to modern-day horses,

形成不同的物种分支，

进而成为现在的马、驴和斑马。

donkeys, and zebras.

Early humans, including generations of the first people to live in the Americas,

早期人类，包括最初生活在美洲的人们，

hunted wild horses, sometimes fashioning their bones into tools.

猎捕野马，有时把它们的骨头制成工具。

Then, between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago,

之后，在 1.5 万至 5 千年前，

likely because of a changing climate, hunting by humans,

兴许是由于气候变化、人类捕猎、

and competition with bison,

以及与野牛的竞争，

horses disappeared from the American archaeological record.

马匹从美洲的考古记录中消失了，

But they’d be back eventually.

但它们最终会回来的。

In the meantime, on the other side of the world around 2,000 BCE,

与此同时，大约在公元前 2000 年，

在世界的另一边发生了件十分重大的事：

something very consequential happened:

people on the western Eurasian steppe domesticated horses.

西欧亚大草原上的人们驯化了马匹。

By then, people in western Asia had already domesticated many animals

那时西亚人已经驯化了许多动物，

and begun using some of them to pull carts.

并开始用其中一些来拉车。

But, because horses were generally faster and more difficult to control,

但因为马匹通常更迅速且更难控制，

steppe people developed a bridle-and-bit system

草原居民研发出了马辔

and chariots with lighter, spoked wheels.

以及装有辐条的轻便车轮。

Horses were soon integrated into many ancient cultures.

马匹很快融入了很多古老文明。

In contrast with horse-drawn charioteering,

与马拉战车相对的是，

horseback riding appears to have been less common at first.

骑马在一开始似乎更为罕见。

Archaeological evidence suggests that people who did mount horses

考古证据表明，

在这个早期阶段，

during this early stage

did so without structured saddles or stirrups.

骑马者并没有马鞍和马镫，

This sometimes altered or damaged the skeletons of riders and horses alike.

这有时会改变或损坏骑手和马的骨骼。

People continued breeding for less aggressive horses

人们持续培育着更温顺、

with greater endurance and weight-bearing abilities.

更有耐力和更能承重的马。

And they developed techniques and tools for improved control and comfort.

他们还发明了技术和工具 来改善控制和舒适度。

After around 1000 BCE,

大约公元前 1000 年，

cavalry appeared in combat across much of Asia.

骑兵出现在了亚洲大部分地区的战斗中。

Riders of steppe and desert cultures became renowned

草原和沙漠文明的骑士

以他们马背上的威风而著名。

for their prowess on horseback.

Ceremonial horse sacrifice also made its way into the funerary traditions

一些文化的丧葬传统中也有祭马仪式。

of some cultures.

One royal Scythian burial site from around the 9th century BCE

公元前 9 世纪的一处斯基泰皇家陵墓中，

contained the remains of approximately 200 horses fitted with riding gear.

有约 200 匹装有骑具的马的遗骸。

Officials in ancient China recognized how advantageous horses were

古代中国官员意识到 马匹在邻国发挥的作用，

for their neighbors

and some coveted larger numbers of them for their own empire.

有些官员觊觎更多马来为帝国所用。

Around 100 BCE, the Chinese emperor reportedly ordered a 30,000-man army west

据记载，大约在公元前 100 年， 中国皇帝命令一支 3 万人的军队

that laid siege to a city and had its king killed—

向西包围了一座城池并杀掉其国王，

all for 3,000 of the so-called “heavenly horses” of Ferghana.

以获得 3 千匹汗血马。

Between the 4th and 8th centuries CE,

在公元前 4 到 8 世纪间，

steppe horsemen spread riding technologies like stirrups across cultures.

草原骑手将马镫等技术传播到不同文化。

And nomadic groups eventually coalesced into unstoppable forces on horseback.

而游牧民族逐渐成为了势不可挡的势力。

The Mongol Empire rose to power in the 13th century,

蒙古帝国在 13 世纪崛起，

and raided, traded, and toppled empires over previously unthinkable distances.

在以前无法想象的距离上 进行掠夺、贸易并推翻其它帝国。

They developed a horse-backed postal relay system

他们开发的马背邮政中继系统，

that stretched more than 60,000 kilometers.

延展超过 6 万公里。

Their imperial successes relied on the well-being of their horses—

帝国的成功得益于马匹的良好状况，

and leaders knew it.

这是将领们十分清楚的。

In 1252, before launching his next military campaigns,

1252 年，在下一个军事行动前，

Möngke Khan sent officials ahead to prohibit cattle grazing

蒙哥汗提前派官员去禁止放牧，

so there’d be plentiful pastureland for their steeds.

为他们马匹保留完好的牧场。

Horses continued to spread,

马匹继续扩散，

eventually spurring equestrian empires reaching a south of the Sahara.

最终使得骑兵帝国进入撒哈拉以南。

By the mid-14th century, the Mali Empire was said to have had

到了 14 世纪中叶，马里帝国

据说有超过 1 万人的骑兵，

a cavalry of more than 10,000

that controlled some 1 million square kilometers of West Africa.

控制着西非约一百万平方公里的领土。

And by 1500, horses were finally reintroduced to the Americas.

1500 年，马匹又被重新引入美洲。

They appear to have escaped Spanish control rapidly

由于从潘帕斯到大平原的土著居民

as Indigenous people from the Pampas to the Great Plains

通过广泛的贸易网络交换马匹，

exchanged them via expansive trade networks.

马匹似乎迅速摆脱了西班牙人的控制。

Colonization and trade spread horses even further around the globe.

殖民和贸易使得马匹进一步散布到全球。

And well into the 20th century they were a widespread and essential means

一直到 20 世纪，它们都是

广泛使用的基本旅行和运输工具。

of travel and transport.

This didn’t come without problems:

这也随之带来问题：

issues of hygiene and animal welfare emerged,

卫生与动物福利问题不断出现，

especially in cities.

尤其在城市里。

And many human hubs transformed with the introduction

随着机械运输如汽车的出现，

of non-living modes of transport, like the automobile.

而许多人类活动中心彻底改变。

Nevertheless, people have maintained their multifaceted relationships with horses—

尽管如此，人们一直维持着 与马匹的多方面联系——

riding, herding, racing, or admiring them—

骑马、赛马、放牧或单纯欣赏——

from the steppes of Mongolia to the prairies of Montana,

从蒙古草原到蒙大拿的大草原，

ever since.

一直到现在。