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

翻译人员: Li Jiaying 校对人员: suya f.

Pharaoh Ramesses II reigned for almost 70 years

法老拉美西斯二世在公元前 13 世纪

in the 13th century BCE.

统治了将近 70 年。

He presided over a golden age of Egyptian prosperity.

他执掌了埃及繁荣的黄金时代。

But was he a model leader,

但他是一位模范领袖吗，

or a shameless egomaniac and master of propaganda?

还是无耻的自大狂和宣传大师？

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

肃静！ 肃静！我们的听证席上是谁？ 是拉美西斯二世吗？

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

咳咳，我相信你指的是 “强壮公牛的化身，埃及的保护者，

who subdues foreign lands;

他征服了异国疆土；

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

让国家年年富足，获得了伟大战果， 被瑞（古埃及太阳神）选中的——

Ramesses, beloved of Amun."

他的决断很有影响力—— 拉美西斯，阿蒙（古埃及主神）的最爱”

But you may refer to him as Ramesses the Great.

但是你可能会称他为拉美西斯大帝。

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

拉美西斯，拉美西斯—— 我想我听说过他。

"Let my people go!"

“让我的人说吧！”

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

是的，法官大人，他是《出埃及记》 中臭名昭著的固执法老，

who forced enslaved Hebrews

他强迫被奴役的希伯来人

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

建造他奢华的首都培尔-拉美西斯。

Objection, there's no archaeological evidence

反对，没有考古证据表明

that Ramesses used forced labor in his construction projects.

拉美西斯在他的建设工程中 使用了强制性劳役。

Egyptians relied on highly trained artisans and craftsmen

埃及人依靠训练有素的能工巧匠

to build their cities and monuments.

来建造他们的城市和纪念碑。

And menial labor, like quarrying and moving stones,

而像开采和搬运石头这样的体力劳动

was done by military soldiers and foreign mercenaries—

则由军队和外国雇佣兵完成——

all of whom were compensated for their work.

他们所有人都得到了劳动报酬。

So he's not the pharaoh from Exodus?

所以他不是《出埃及记》中的法老？

It's hard to say for certain.

这很难说。

According to some timelines,

根据一些大事记，

Ramesses is the best candidate for that particular pharaoh.

拉美西斯是当时 那个特定法老的最佳人选。

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

但是，在他统治期间， 没有证据表明埃及有任何希伯来人口，

and certainly no records of a revolution or mass migration

当然也没有关于革命或大迁徙的记录

like the one described in Exodus.

像《出埃及记》中所描述的那样。

Is that really so surprising?

这真的很令人惊讶吗？

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

就像拉美西斯也不会保留 其他任何时候的战败记录。

What do you mean?

你指的是什么？

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

我们这位 “伟大” 法老 操纵着古代历史上

in ancient history.

最大的宣传机器之一。

Almost all pharaohs relied on propaganda to control their country,

几乎所有的法老都依靠宣传 来控制自己的国家，

and Ramesses had particularly big sandals to fill.

而拉美西斯（要控制如此大的罗马帝国 正如）要填满这个特别巨大的罗马凉鞋。

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

他的父亲塞提一世带领埃及 进入了一个富裕且稳定的时期

that Ramesses worked hard to maintain.

拉美西斯努力维持这样的繁荣。

Through propaganda, yes, but also military glory.

不仅通过宣传，是的，还有军事荣耀。

More like military aggression.

更像是军事侵略。

By the end of Seti's reign,

在塞提统治结束时，

he had established peace with the neighboring Hittites

他与邻国的赫梯人建立了和平

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

通过保证埃及会控制 一个名为卡迭石的抢手地区。

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

但是在拉美西斯统治的第五年， 他违反了这些协议。

It wasn't the most peaceful decision,

这不是最和平的决定，

but Ramesses believed a military victory would aid his efforts

但拉美西斯认为， 一项军事胜利将助力他

to restore Egypt's reputation.

对恢复埃及声誉的努力。

And he was right!

并且他是对的！

His victory over the Hittites cemented Ramesses' persona

拉美西斯对赫梯人的胜利巩固了他

as a heroic pharaoh of old.

作为古老英雄法老的形象。

Yeah, except he didn't even win!

是啊，只是他根本没赢！

His supposed victory was actually a stalemate

他所谓的胜利实际上是一个僵局，

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

在这场僵局中，法老的傲慢几乎 使埃及付出了整场战争的代价。

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

当两名赫梯间谍告诉拉美西斯 敌人已因恐惧而逃走时，

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

他放松了警惕，使他的部下遭到伏击。

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

他直接进入了赫梯人的陷阱， 几乎失去了一切。

Yet the official story Ramesses had chiseled across Egypt

然而，拉美西斯改编过的官方报道 在埃及各地流传着

cast himself as the battle's greatest hero.

自导自演称他是这场战斗中 最伟大的英雄。

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

军事成就对于 合法化法老的力量很重要，

even if that meant a bit of exaggeration.

尽管这意味着些许的夸大。

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

些许？这家伙说的每句话都不可信！

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

要不是因为与赫梯的记录相互矛盾，

we'd still be buying Ramesses' propaganda.

我们会一直为拉美西斯的宣传买账。

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

我提议，本法院不能根据 任何历史人物自己讲述的故事

by the stories they tell about themselves.

来判断他们的遗留问题。

That seems reasonable to me.

这对我来说听着挺合理的。

Fair enough. How's this record then—

有道理。那这条记录算什么——

the first recorded peace treaty in archaeological history

考古史上第一份有记录的和平条约

signed by Ramesses and the Hittites.

是由拉美西斯和赫梯人签署的。

"Peace treaty" is pretty generous.

“和平条约” 相当慷慨。

Ramesses begrudgingly agreed to a mutual defense contract,

拉美西斯勉强同意了 这一份共同防御协议，

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

根据该协议，如果受到外敌袭击， 埃及人和赫梯人将共同合作。

And what's wrong with that?

那有什么问题吗？

This peaceful end to the conflict marked the beginning

这场冲突的和平结束标志着

of Ramesses' prosperous reign—

拉美西斯繁荣统治的开始——

a golden age of Egyptian power and wealth.

一个埃及权力与财富的黄金时代。

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

没错，但我们并不知道这些财富 是否惠及了埃及普罗大众

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

还是只是资助了拉美西斯 通过石头实现永生的徒劳尝试。

He spent his entire reign pouring money into ego projects.

他在整个统治期间都在 为自我的项目挥霍。

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

而最著名的（古埃及）遗迹之一 阿布辛贝神庙甚至不在埃及！

Abu Simbel was in Nubia to showcase Egypt's strength

阿布辛贝神庙被建在努比亚 是为了展示埃及的力量

and discourage a Nubian revolution.

和阻止努比亚革命。

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

此外，当时预计法老将投资 为了众神的建造计划。

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

对，“为了众神”，而拉美西斯不是神。

Pharaohs typically occupied a status between gods and mortals,

法老通常处于一种神与凡人之间的地位，

but the location of Ramesses' statue inside Abu Simbel

但是拉美西斯雕像 在阿布辛贝神庙里的位置

positions him as their supposed equal.

使他（和神）处于他们所谓的平等地位。

He even tore down existing temples to reuse their bricks

他甚至拆毁了现有的神庙，将其中的砖块

in monuments to himself!

重新用于自己的纪念碑！

He tore down temples built by Akhenaten,

他拆毁了埃赫那顿建造的神庙，

a pharaoh who'd attempted to impose monotheism.

因为法老埃赫那顿曾试图推行一神论。

By destroying those temples,

通过摧毁这些神庙，

Ramesses reinforced his commitment to Egypt's traditional religion.

拉美西斯强化了 他对埃及传统宗教的投入。

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

这并不能解释为什么他经常 在纪念碑上抹掉其他法老的名字，

and replaced them with his own.

然后用自己的名字取而代之。

Hey, what the...?

嘿，什么鬼...？

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

即使是短暂在位的法老 也有许多自己建造的雕像——

and Ramesses ruled for almost seven decades.

而拉美西斯统治了将近七十年。

Well, he definitely made a lasting impression.

好吧，他确实给人留下了深刻的印象。

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

面对现实吧，法官大人，如果他没有， 我们今天还能谈论他吗？

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

人们常说，历史是由胜利者书写的，

but in this courtroom,

但是在这个法庭上，

a winning record never guarantees the outcome.

胜利记录永远不能保证裁决结果。