The rise and fall of the Maya Empire’s most powerful city - Geoffrey E. Braswell

Translator: Aubrey Cheng Reviewer: Thomas Tam

During an important calendrical celebration in 889 CE,

公元 889 年，喺場 重要嘅曆法慶典中

Lord K’ak’ Upakal may have sat atop his ornate palace

卡克烏柏高王可能高高在上 坐喺佢華麗嘅宮殿

and observed the bustling hub he’d helped Chichen Itza become.

觀察靠佢變成繁榮嘅 奇琴伊察城邦（城市國家）

The Maya city’s golden age would outlast K’ak’ Upakal’s own life,

呢個瑪雅城邦嘅黃金時代 比卡克·烏柏高嘅生命重要長

but he couldn’t have known the crises that lay ahead.

但佢根本唔會知道 奇琴伊察前路危機處處

A century before, warfare and failing agriculture forced Maya people

一世紀前，戰爭 同農業衰落逼使瑪雅人

to abandon numerous Central American settlements.

放棄咗中美洲一帶嘅住處

This shifted the center of their civilization north,

令到佢哋將文明重心 搬咗去北邊

to hotter, drier Yucatan.

熱啲、乾燥啲嘅尤卡坦

During the early 800s,

喺 800 年代初期

cities like Chichen Itza, Izamal, and Uxmal expanded.

奇琴伊察、伊薩瑪 同烏斯瑪等城市擴展

But Yucatan presented its own challenges.

但尤卡坦卻要 面對自身嘅挑戰

Surface water was scarce

缺乏湖泊、河流同濕地

and the region’s limestone bedrock rapidly absorbed rain.

區內嘅石灰岩 迅速吸收落下嘅雨水

This forced many Yucatecan cities to collect rainwater in cisterns.

所以尤卡坦城邦 會用蓄水池儲水

But the land surrounding Chichen Itza is pocked with sinkholes,

但喺奇琴伊察一帶 佈滿咗洞穴湖

where collapsed bedrock reveals an abundant supply of fresh groundwater.

洞穴湖係倒塌咗嘅石層形成 裡面有充足嘅淡水供應

Because of this freshwater access, when drought seized Yucatan in the early 900s,

喺 900 年初期 當旱災肆虐尤卡坦時

Chichen Itza survived to become the most powerful Maya city.

因為奇琴伊察有淡水供應 所以成為瑪雅最強大嘅城邦

People immigrated from hundreds of kilometers away,

啲人喺數百公里之外移居入嚟

and, at its height, Chichen Itza’s population possibly reached 50,000.

喺高峰時奇琴伊察嘅人口 達至五萬人

The city came to reflect a diverse international culture

呢個城市喺唔同層面上

in all spheres of life.

反映出多元國際文化

Its challenge then became sustaining a large population

呢個城市嘅難題係點樣

喺不可預測嘅環境下 供養龐大嘅人口

in an unpredictable environment.

During the 10th century, following K’ak’ Upakal’s death,

喺 10 世紀期間 當卡克·烏柏高過身之後

Chichen Itza’s government shifted from a focus solely on the king

奇琴伊察嘅政府 由過往只係以瑪雅王為重心

to a more flexible system

採用一套較大彈性嘅體制

that also included ruling councils of the city’s elite.

令城邦嘅貴族精英 有份參與統治

Unlike traditional Maya kings,

唔似得傳統嘅瑪雅王

who reinforced their legitimacy with destructive wars and costly monuments,

以打仗同埋立碑 去加強威信

the new rulers focused largely on economic growth.

新一批統治者 主要專注喺經濟增長

They channeled the city’s military might into establishing long-distance trade

佢哋將城邦嘅軍力 用喺建立長距離嘅貿易

and political dominance.

同領導霸權上面

Merchant-warriors traveled from coastal ports and captured valuable goods.

商人戰士由沿海港口出發 獵穫珍貴物品

Using obsidian, gold, copper, turquoise, and jade

由中美洲同埋北美洲各處

from various parts of Central and North America,

利用黑曜石、金、銅 綠松石同翡翠

Chichen Itza’s inhabitants crafted sharp tools and precious ornaments.

奇琴伊察嘅人手製出 鋒利嘅工具同珍貴裝嘅飾物

They traded food, textiles, feathers, minerals, and metals,

佢哋出售食物、衣服 羽毛、礦物同金屬

sometimes using cacao beans as currency.

有時會用可可豆 作為交易貨幣

And they transported seafood from the coast

佢哋亦都會由海岸運送海鮮

to supplement the city’s locally grown staple crops.

嚟補充本地種植嘅主要農作物

Farming was essential to Chichen Itza’s survival.

農業係奇琴伊察 賴以生存嘅根基

The city’s architecture and religious practices reflected this importance

該座城市嘅建築同宗教習俗

by keeping track of time, the transit of celestial bodies,

透過記錄天體運作 同埋農業週期時間

and agricultural cycles.

反映咗其重要性

As the city grew, its citizens built a vast platform

隨着城市增長 市民建造咗個廣闊平台

to support new temples, pyramids, altars, ballcourts, and colonnades.

去支撐新建嘅神廟、金字塔 祭壇、蹴球場同埋柱廊

Builders carefully aligned a round temple to mark solstices, equinoxes,

建築工人仔細對齊圓形神殿去紀錄 （夏、冬）至日及（春、秋）分日

and the passing of the planet Venus,

同金星經過嘅軌跡

an avatar of K’uk’ulkan, the feathered serpent god.

金星係羽蛇 K’uk’ulkan 嘅化身

K’uk’ulkan became Chichen Itza’s central deity,

K’uk’ulkan 變成咗奇琴伊察嘅神

and his worship transformed the city into a center of religious pilgrimage.

崇拜 K’uk’ulkan 將奇琴伊察變成咗個朝聖地

Architects designed a stepped pyramid and temple dedicated to K’uk’ulkan

建築師設計咗一座有梯級嘅金字塔 同埋神廟獻給 K’uk’ulkan

that towers 30 meters high,

塔高三十米

and features four stairs with a total of 365 steps,

同四堂石梯級 總共三百六十五級

each representing a day in the solar year.

每一級代表陽曆嘅一日

It’s oriented so that, around each equinox,

每年春分、秋分前後

the setting sun creates snake-like shadows that slither down the balustrades,

日落光線喺欄杆上 投射出巨蛇下降嘅陰影

evoking the serpent god.

瑪雅人認為好似羽蛇神現身

Several buildings feature representations of Flower Mountain,

幾座建築係花山嘅代表作

the sacred paradise realm inhabited by gods and ancestors.

係啲神同祖先嘅神聖棲息地

And rulers from far and wide

嚟自四面八方嘅統治者

were inaugurated at Chichen Itza’s Great Ballcourt

喺 K’uk’ulkan 支持下

under the auspices of K’uk’ulkan

同埋幾千個現場觀眾

and in the presence of thousands of spectators.

齊集喺奇琴伊察 宏偉嘅蹴球場進行就職典禮

However, Chichen Itza’s golden age wouldn’t last forever.

好可惜奇琴伊察 嘅黃金時代時日無多

Around 1020 CE, an intense drought hit and lasted nearly a century.

大約公元 1020 年，嚴重嘅乾旱 重擊奇琴伊察，並維持咗接近一世紀

In an effort to end the disaster,

為咗早日完結呢場浩劫

people made offerings to rain deities in nearby caves and sinkholes,

瑪雅人喺附近洞穴 同洞穴湖入面供奉雨神

which were seen as entrances to the watery underworld realm of the gods.

呢兩個地方都被視為 係通往水神世界嘅入口

Despite Chichen Itza’s natural advantages and the ingenuity of its people,

即使奇琴伊察有天然優勢 同當地人獨具嘅聰明才智

the city couldn't support itself through this extended drought.

都無法撐過漫長嘅旱災

Population plummeted during the 11th century,

喺 11 世紀人口急跌

and many people resettled on the coast.

好多人搬去沿海生活

At the end of the drought,

旱災完結後

the new city of Mayapan emerged

一個新城市瑪雅潘誕生咗

and replaced Chichen Itza as the principal city of Yucatan.

亦取代咗奇琴伊察 成為尤卡坦嘅重要城市

Yet, Chichen Itza was never fully abandoned or forgotten.

但係，奇琴伊察 並未為世人完全背棄同遺忘

When the Spanish arrived centuries later,

當西班牙人 喺幾個世紀後佔領咗佢

it was still a small, local capital of a Maya province.

佢依然係瑪雅省 地方性嘅小首府

Chichen Itza’s original name was preserved,

奇琴伊察原本個名得以保留

and its ancient stone constructions were still standing,

就連佢嘅古老石制建築

as they do to this day.

時至今日依然屹立不倒