The hidden treasures of Timbuktu - Elizabeth Cox

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

On the edge of the vast Sahara desert,

在浩瀚撒哈拉沙漠的邊緣，

citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu

市民悄悄溜出廷巴克圖市，

and took to the wilderness.

跑到荒野去。

They buried chests in the desert sand, hid them in caves,

他們把箱子埋在沙漠的 沙子裡，藏在洞穴中，

and sealed them in secret rooms.

封在秘室裡。

Inside these chests was a treasure more valuable than gold:

箱子裡裝的是比黃金 還要有價值的寶藏：

the city’s ancient books.

該市的古書。

Founded around 1100 CE in what is now Mali,

廷巴克圖市也就是現在的馬利，

在公元 1100 成立，

the city of Timbuktu started out as an unremarkable trading post.

最初只是個平凡的貿易站。

But its unique location soon changed that.

但它獨特的位置很快就造成了改變。

Timbuktu marked the intersection of two essential trade routes,

廷巴克圖是兩條主要 貿易路線的交會點，

where caravans bringing salt across the Sahara

商隊會帶著鹽巴 穿過撒哈拉沙漠到那裡，

met with traders bringing gold from the African interior.

會見來自非洲內陸帶著黃金的商人。

By the late 1300s, these trade routes made Timbuktu rich,

到了 1300 年代末，這些 貿易路線讓廷巴克圖變富有，

and the city’s rulers, the kings of the Mali Empire,

而該城市的統治者， 馬利帝國的國王，

built monuments and academies that drew scholars

建造了紀念館和學院來吸引來自

from Egypt, Spain, and Morocco.

埃及、西班牙，及摩洛哥的學者。

The city’s prime location also made it a target for warlords and conquerors.

該城市的絕佳位置也讓它 成為軍閥和征服者的目標。

As the Mali Empire declined, one of its domains, Songhai,

當馬利帝國衰落時， 它的領土之一，桑海，

began to gain power.

開始取得權勢。

In 1468, the Songhai king conquered Timbuktu,

1468 年，桑海國王征服了廷巴克圖，

burning buildings and murdering scholars.

將建築燒毀，將學者殺害。

But in time, intellectual life in the city flourished again.

但，最終，該城市的知識生活 又再次興旺起來。

The reign of the second king of the Songhai Empire,

桑海帝國第二任國王

阿斯基亞穆罕默德一世在位期間，

Askia Mohammed Toure,

marked the beginning of a golden age in Timbuktu.

是廷巴克圖黃金時期的開端。

He reversed his predecessor’s regressive policies

他反轉了前人會造成退步的政策，

and encouraged learning.

並鼓勵學習。

The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s population were Muslim,

桑海的統治者和大部分 廷巴克圖人民是穆斯林，

and the scholars of Timbuktu studied Islam

廷巴克圖的學者會研究伊斯蘭教，

alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy.

以及非宗教的主題，如數學和哲學。

In the libraries of Timbuktu,

在廷巴克圖的圖書館中，

tracts of Greek philosophy stood alongside the writings

有大量的希臘哲學和當地歷史學家、

of local historians, scientists, and poets.

科學家，及詩人的著作放在一起。

The city’s most prominent scholar, Ahmed Baba,

該城市中最著名的學者艾哈邁德巴巴

challenged prevailing opinions on subjects

會去挑戰主流的意見， 主題從抽菸到奴役都有。

ranging from smoking to slavery.

Gold and salt trade had funded the city’s transformation

黃金和鹽巴的貿易

讓該城市有資金 可以轉型成為學習中心。

into a center of learning.

Now, the products of that intellectual culture

那知識文化的產物

became the most sought-after commodity.

成了最受歡迎的商品。

With paper from faraway Venice

用來自遙遠威尼斯的紙張

and vibrant ink from local plants and minerals,

以及用當地植物 和礦物製成的鮮明墨水，

the scribes of Timbuktu produced texts in both Arabic

廷巴克圖的抄寫員會用阿拉伯文

及當地語言來抄寫文本。

and local languages.

Written in calligraphy and decorated with intricate geometric designs,

廷巴克圖的書籍都是用書法撰寫，

並加上複雜的幾何設計，

the books of Timbuktu were in demand among the wealthiest members of society.

讓社會上最富有的人都想要取得。

In 1591, the golden age came to an abrupt end

1591 年，黃金時代突然告終，

when the Moroccan king captured Timbuktu.

摩洛哥國王佔據了廷巴克圖，

Moroccan forces imprisoned Ahmed Baba and other prominent scholars

摩洛哥軍隊囚禁了艾哈邁德巴巴

及其他知名學者， 並沒收了他們的圖書館。

and confiscated their libraries.

In the centuries that followed, the city weathered a succession of conquests.

在接下來的幾個世紀，

該城市度過了一連串的征戰。

In the mid-1800s, Sufi Jihadists occupied Timbuktu

1800 年代中期，蘇菲的聖戰士

佔據了廷巴克圖，並摧毀了 許多非宗教的手稿。

and destroyed many non-religious manuscripts.

1894, French colonial forces seized control of the city,

1894 年，

法國殖民軍隊控制了該城市，

stealing even more manuscripts and sending them to Europe.

偷走了更多手稿，並送回到歐洲。

French became the official language taught in schools,

法語成為學校教授的官方語言，

and new generations in Timbuktu

廷巴克圖的新世代

couldn’t read the Arabic manuscripts that remained.

無法閱讀剩下的阿拉伯文手稿。

Through it all, the literary tradition of Timbuktu didn’t die—

經過這一切，廷巴克圖的 文學傳統並沒有滅亡——

it went underground.

而是躲到地下。

Some families built secret libraries in their homes,

有些家庭在家中建造了 隱藏式的圖書館，

or buried the books in their gardens.

或者把書籍埋藏在花園裡。

Others stashed them in abandoned caves or holes in the desert.

也有人把書籍藏匿到 廢棄的洞穴或沙漠的空洞裡。

The priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu

廷巴克圖的無價手稿

dispersed to villages throughout the surrounding area,

分散到周圍地區各地的村落裡，

where regular citizens guarded them for hundreds of years.

在那些地方，平民百姓 守護著這些書籍長達數百年。

As desertification and war impoverished the region,

隨著沙漠化和戰爭 讓該區域變得十分貧窮，

families held on to the ancient books

那些家庭即使在極度貧窮

even as they faced desperate poverty and near-starvation.

且幾乎無法溫飽的情況下 仍然守著古書。

Even today, the struggle to protect the books continues.

甚至到現今，保護古老 書籍的努力仍然持續著。

From the 1980s to the early 2000s,

從 1980 年代到 2000 年代初期，

Timbuktu scholar Abdel Kader Haidara painstakingly retrieved hidden manuscripts

廷巴克圖學者阿巴杜卡德海德拉

辛苦地從馬利北部各地 取回藏匿的手稿，

from all over northern Mali and brought them back to Timbuktu.

帶回廷巴克圖。

But in 2012, civil war in Mali once again threatened the manuscripts,

但，2012 年，馬利的內戰 再次威脅到這些手稿。

most of which were evacuated to nearby Bamako.

大部分的手稿被撤到鄰近的巴馬科。

Their future remains uncertain,

它們的未來仍然充滿不確定，

as they face both human and environmental threats.

因為它們既要面對人類威脅 也要面臨環境威脅。

These books represent our best— and often only—

若要了解該地區在殖民前的歷史，

sources on the pre-colonial history of the region.

這些書籍是我們最好的—— 通常也是唯一的——來源。

Many of them have never been read by modern scholars,

這些書籍中有很多 還沒被現代學者讀過，

and still more remain lost or hidden in the desert.

還有更多遺失或藏匿在沙漠中。

At stake in the efforts to protect them is the history they contain—

盡力保護這些書籍， 是要守住書中的歷史——

and the efforts of countless generations to protect that history from being lost.

以及無數個世代為了不讓 那歷史失傳所做出的努力。