History vs. Tamerlane the Conqueror - Stephanie Honchell Smith

譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng 審譯者: 柏陞 郭

He was born in the 1330s in the Chaghatayid Khanate

1330 年代，他出生於察合台汗國，

formerly the Mongol Empire in Central Asia.

其前身為中亞的蒙古帝國。

On the unforgiving steppe, he rose from a lowly sheep thief

身處荒涼的大草原， 他從卑微的偷羊賊，

to become one of history’s greatest conquerors,

成為史上最強大的征服者之一。

uniting nearly all of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran under his rule.

他幾乎統一整個中亞、阿富汗和伊朗， 並置於其統治之下。

But was he a great state builder or a bloodthirsty tyrant?

但他究竟是偉大的開國者， 抑或嗜血的暴君？

Order! Order! Who do we have on the stand today?

肅靜！肅靜！今天出庭的是誰？

Tamer...lane?

跛子……帖木兒？

That wasn’t his name, your Honor.

這不是他的名字，閣下。

The great Timur— meaning iron— was nicknamed “Timur the lame”

偉大的帖木兒是「鐵」的意思， 他又被稱為「跛子帖木兒」，

by enemies who mocked permanent injuries to his leg and arm.

這是因為敵人嘲笑他腳和手臂的傷。

Injuries he sustained raiding a rival tribe’s sheep herd—

他受傷的時候正在 劫掠敵對部落的羊群，

he was a thief and a scoundrel from the start!

從一開始他就是個小偷和惡棍！

Maybe— we actually don’t know for sure— but even if that’s true,

也許吧––我們完全無法證實， 但即使那是真的，

raiding rivals was just part of nomadic life at the time.

劫掠敵人只不過是 當時游牧生活的一部分。

Timur was not born into a ruling family,

帖木兒並非生於統治者的家庭，

so he had to prove his worth through daring and horsemanship.

因此他必須靠勇氣和馬術 來證明他的價值。

He was hardly a commoner.

但也很難說他只是位平民。

Timur’s family was minor nobility.

帖木兒的家庭是個小貴族。

His uncle and brother-in-law were high-ranking officials.

他的叔叔和大舅子是高層官員。

And when they trusted Timur on a diplomatic mission,

當他們出於信任 派遣鐵木兒進行外交時，

he defected to a rival khan!

帖木兒竟叛逃到敵對可汗的陣營！

Strategic maneuvering!

那是策略性行動！

He reconciled with his uncle and brother-in-law soon after.

他旋即與叔叔和大舅子重修舊好。

Only for long enough to consolidate his own power.

同時利用這段時間鞏固他的權力，

Then he went to battle against his brother-in-law—

然後便與大舅子開戰，

supposedly his closest ally.

儘管他們理當是最親近的盟友。

He was assassinated, and Timur seized power!

大舅子仍遭到暗殺，帖木兒成功奪權！

They may have been friends,

他們也許曾是朋友，

but he was a corrupt man who alienated a lot of people.

但大舅子是個貪腐的人， 最終眾叛親離。

Timur was right to oust him.

帖木兒廢黜他是正確的決定。

Afterward, he managed to reunite most of the khanate’s territories

後來，他成功統一 絕大部分汗國的土地，

and put an end to decades of bloody infighting.

終結了數十年的血腥內鬥。

Okay, so where are we? I can hardly keep up.

我們講到哪裡了？我快跟不上了。

1370, your honor.

1370 年，閣下。

And he’s khan now?

他現在是可汗了嗎？

Well, not quite.

不太算。

Timur was not a direct descendant of Genghis Khan,

帖木兒不是成吉思汗的直系後裔，

so he couldn’t claim the title.

所以他不能取得這個頭銜。

Instead, he appointed figurehead khans and referred to himself as amir,

他指定了傀儡可汗， 自封為埃米爾，亦即統帥；

or commander, and later as güregen, or son-in-law,

後來又稱為駙馬，亦即女婿，

after he married a woman who was descended from Genghis Khan.

因為他娶了一位成吉思汗的後裔。

He claimed to be a divinely ordained protector of the Mongol and Muslim worlds,

他聲稱神命令他來擔任 蒙古和穆斯林世界的守護者，

yet he undermined both Mongol and Muslim power

但他持續對鄰國發動戰爭，

by relentlessly waging war against his neighbors,

使蒙古和穆斯林的力量都有所削弱，

weakening them so much that Christian Europe romanticized him as an ally.

讓信奉基督教的歐洲 將其浪漫化地描述為友軍。

His campaigns killed as many as 17 million people!

他的行動導致多達 1700 萬人喪生！

Propaganda.

那是宣傳。

Timur’s official biographies deliberately exaggerated the number of deaths

帖木兒的官方傳記 故意誇大死亡人數，

to deter rebellions.

藉此威懾反叛者。

Like the Mongols, Timur offered cities the chance to surrender

跟蒙古人一樣， 帖木兒讓城市有機會投降，

and only ordered massacres if they revolted.

只在對方拒絕時才會下令屠城。

He rebuilt irrigation canals to support agriculture,

他修繕灌溉渠道以支持農業，

and regularly distributed food to the poor.

並定期分配食物給貧民。

Just in his hometown of Kesh,

在他的家鄉渴石，

he paid for the meat of 20 sheep to be given to the poor every day.

他每天為窮人付出二十隻羊的肉。

His campaigns were brutal,

他的行動固然殘酷，

but by unifying Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran,

但也統一了中亞、阿富汗、伊朗，

he was also able to reinvigorate the Silk Road.

進而使絲路重現生機。

Much of Eurasia benefited from the revival of long-distance trade,

歐亞大陸許多國家得益於 長距離貿易的復興，

and Central Asian cities, such as Samarkand and Herat,

撒馬爾罕與赫拉特等中亞城市

became thriving commercial hubs under his rule.

在其統治下成為繁榮的商業中心。

And meanwhile, other cities like Baghdad, Aleppo, and Delhi

與此同時，巴格達、阿勒坡、 德里等地慘遭洗劫、焚毀，

were plundered and burned and took decades to recover.

數十年後才得以復甦。

This illiterate warlord destroyed centuries’ worth of cultural heritage,

這個不識字的軍閥摧毀了 數世紀以來的文化遺產，

leaving nothing but pyramids of skulls in his wake.

只留下堆積如山的白骨。

Timur may have been illiterate,

帖木兒也許是文盲，

but he was also an active patron of culture and the arts.

但他也是文化和藝術的熱衷贊助者。

During his conquests, he spared artisans and scholars,

在征伐期間，他放過匠人與學者，

sending them to work on public projects like schools and mosques.

命令他們服務於公共計畫， 例如學校和清真寺。

Unlike many women in the world at the time,

不像當時世上其他女性，

his wives, daughters, and daughters-in-law

他的妻妾、女兒、兒媳 受教育程度高並活躍於政壇。

were highly educated and politically active.

Timur also personally met with— and impressed—

帖木兒也曾親自到大馬士革拜訪 知名阿拉伯歷史學家伊本．哈勒敦，

the famed Arab historian Ibn Khaldun in Damascus,

並十分仰慕他。

and he so thoroughly mastered chess that he is said to have enjoyed

他也非常精通西洋棋，

據說他很享受一種更複雜的、 以他命名的改良西洋棋。

a more complex variant that was named for him.

So what happened after that?

那麼，之後發生了什麼？

Timur died from an illness in 1405, when he was likely in his early 70s.

帖木兒病逝於 1405 年， 年齡可能是七十歲出頭。

The empire he founded lasted another hundred years,

他所建立的帝國 延續了一百年的國祚，

ushering in an architectural, artistic, literary and scientific renaissance

在中亞開啟了建築、藝術、 文學、科學的復興。

across Central Asia.

In Samarkand, Timur’s grandson, Ulugh Beg,

在撒馬爾罕，帖木兒之孫兀魯伯

built the largest astronomical observatory in the world at the time.

建造了當時世界上最大的天文臺。

Even after the fall of Timur's empire,

帖木兒帝國衰亡後，

his descendant Babur re-established himself in India,

他的後裔巴布爾 在印度重新確立其地位，

founding the Mughal Empire,

建立蒙兀兒帝國。

which would become home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population

蒙兀兒帝國擁有世界 近四分之一的人口，

and which built such splendors as the Red Fort and Taj Mahal.

並興建了壯麗的紅堡和泰姬瑪哈陵。

Timur's legacy is still celebrated in monuments across Central Asia,

帖木兒的歷史遺產 仍在中亞的紀念碑上受讚頌，

where he is remembered as “Buyuk Babamiz” or “our great forefather.”

他被稱為「 Buyuk Babamiz 」， 亦即「我們偉大的先人」。

And yet today in Europe, India, and much of the Middle East,

時至今日，在歐洲、印度 和中東許多地方，

he's remembered as a butcher.

人們視其為殺人魔。

That’s more reflection of the success of his own propaganda

那更能反映帖木兒成功的宣傳，

than of the man himself.

而非他本人。

Hold on now, I think I’ve almost got the king cornered!

等等，我想我快要 把這位君王逼到絕境了！

Emerging from relative obscurity, Timur’s conquests formed a legacy

從一位無名小卒發跡，

帖木兒的征戰創造了 延續近五百年的歷史遺產，

lasting nearly 500 years that remains on trial even today.

至今仍讓人爭論不休。