The rise and fall of the Mughal Empire - Stephanie Honchell Smith

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

It’s 1526 in what is now Northern India,

時間是 1526 年，地點是北印度。

and Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi is about to face off against a prince

蘇丹伊布拉辛‧洛迪

即將要和來自中亞的王子對決：

from Central Asia, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.

查希魯丁‧穆罕默德‧巴布爾。

To quash the threat, the Sultan brings his war elephants to battle.

為了擊潰這個威脅，這位蘇丹 帶著他的戰象上戰場。

But it’s said that the explosions of Babur’s cannons and muskets

但據說，巴布爾的大砲 和火槍產生的爆炸

startled the elephants and they trampled the Sultan’s own army.

讓大象受到驚嚇，反而 踐踏了蘇丹自己的軍隊。

Babur had long harbored ambitions of building his own empire.

巴布爾長年來一直懷抱著 野心，想建立自己帝國。

Though he was descended from some of the world’s most successful conquerors,

雖然他的祖先包括世界上 一些最成功的征服者，

he struggled to gain a foothold

但他卻很難在中亞眾多 野心勃勃的王子當中

among the many ambitious princes in Central Asia.

取得穩定的立足之地。

So he turned his attention to India,

所以他把注意力轉移到印度，

where his descendants stayed and built the Mughal Empire,

他的後代留在印度 並建立了蒙兀兒帝國，

one of the wealthiest and most powerful states in the early modern world

該帝國是早期現代世界中 最富有且最強大的國家之一，

and home to nearly a quarter of the global population.

其居民佔全球人口的近四分之一。

Babur died just four years after that fateful battle,

那場關鍵戰役之後四年， 巴布爾就過世了，

but his own memoirs and the work of his descendants

但他自己的回憶錄以及他後代的作品

immortalized him in colorful fashion.

讓他能以一種多采多姿的 方式永垂不朽。

His daughter, Gulbadan, recalled in her own memoir how Babur—

他的女兒古爾巴丹

在她自己的回憶錄中回想

having recently given up drinking—

巴布爾最近如何戒了酒——

filled a newly-constructed pool with lemonade rather than wine.

將新建造的池子裝滿檸檬水

而不是酒。

His grandson, Akbar, commissioned exquisite miniature paintings

他的孫子阿克巴

委託人將巴布爾的故事 製作成精美的小型畫作，

of Babur’s stories—

one depicted the empire’s founder riding through his camp,

其中一幅描繪了該帝國的 創始人騎馬穿越他的營地，

drunkenly slumped over his horse.

且是醉醺醺地掛在他的馬上。

It was Akbar who consolidated Mughal power.

是阿克巴鞏固了蒙兀兒王朝的權力。

He established protections for peasants—

他為農民建立了保護措施——

which in turn increased their productivity and generated more tax revenue—

農民的生產力因而提升， 讓稅收也跟著增加——

and embarked on military campaigns to expand Mughal territory.

並展開軍事行動， 擴展蒙兀兒的領土。

Princes who swore allegiance to him were rewarded,

對他宣誓效忠的王子得到獎賞，

while he made brutal examples of those who resisted,

抵抗他的則被殘酷懲罰，以儆效尤，

killing them and many of their subjects.

他們及他們的子民都被殺害。

His conquests opened access to port cities on the Indian Ocean,

他的征服開啟了通往 印度洋港口城市的通路，

which connected the Mughals to Arab, Chinese, Ottoman, and European traders,

讓蒙兀兒王朝可以連結到 阿拉伯、中國、

奧斯曼，以及歐洲的商人。

bringing in incalculable wealth,

帶來無法計算的財富，

including silver and new crops from the Americas.

包括從美洲引進的銀及新作物。

As the Muslim ruler of a diverse, multiethnic empire,

身為一個多元、多人種 帝國的穆斯林統治者，

Akbar worked to create internal cohesion by appointing members

阿克巴努力創造內部的凝聚力，

of the Hindu majority to high positions in his government,

做法包括指派印度教徒 擔任政府高官，

marrying a Hindu bride,

娶了一位印度新娘，

and distributing translated copies of the “Mahabharata,”

並發放翻譯版的《摩訶波羅多》——

an ancient Indian epic poem, to his Muslim nobles.

一本古印度史詩——

給他的穆斯林貴族。

Akbar also hosted lively religious debates where Sunni and Shia Muslims,

阿克巴還會主持熱列的宗教辯論會，

讓蘇尼派和什葉派穆斯林、

Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians,

印度教徒、耆那教徒、

祆教徒，

and the newly arrived Portuguese Jesuit missionaries

以及新來的葡萄牙耶穌教傳教士

defended the merits of their respective faiths.

可以捍衛其各自信仰的優點。

While most participants viewed this as an intellectual exercise,

雖然大部分參與者都將之 視為是種智力鍛鍊，

Portuguese missionaries were disappointed by their failure to convert Akbar.

葡萄牙傳教士卻因為無法 讓阿克巴皈依而感到失望。

The Mughals built architectural masterpieces

蒙兀兒王朝打造了一些建築傑作，

such as the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort,

比如泰姬瑪哈陵和紅堡，

a palace three kilometers around, that housed 50,000 people

紅堡是座周長三公里的 宮殿，供五萬人居住，

and contained the magnificent gold and jewel-encrusted Peacock Throne.

內有華麗的孔雀寶座， 鑲嵌著黃金和寶石。

Just the throne took seven years to construct.

光是建造寶座就花了七年。

During its first 180 years, the Mughals had only six rulers,

在最初的一百八十年，

蒙兀兒王朝只有六位統治者，

which contributed to the empire’s stability.

有助於帝國的穩定。

When the fourth emperor, Jahangir,

當第四位皇帝賈汗季為 酒精及鴉片成癮所苦時，

struggled with alcohol and opioid addiction,

his wife, Nur Jahan, took the reins as co-ruler.

他的妻子努爾賈汗接掌統治權。

When a traitorous general captured her husband in an attempted coup,

一位叛國的將軍在試圖 政變時俘虜了她的丈夫，

she negotiated his release and rallied the army to stop the rebellion.

她透過談判讓他被釋放， 還集結了軍隊阻止叛亂。

She once led a hunting party to track down a tiger that was terrorizing a village,

她曾經領導狩獵隊追捕 一隻威脅到村落的老虎，

leading one poet to write:

因此一位詩人寫道：

“Though Nur Jahan be in form of a woman/ In the ranks of men she’s a tiger-slayer.”

「雖然努爾賈汗的外形是女人／

在男人的等級中，她屬於屠虎者。」

Following the death of the sixth emperor, Aurangzeb, in 1707,

第六位皇帝奧朗則布 於 1707 年過世，

seven emperors took the throne over the next 21 years.

接下來的二十一年由七位皇帝掌權。

These frequent transitions of power reflected

政權頻繁轉換，反映出

the larger political, economic, social, and environmental crises

有更大的政治、經濟、 社會，及環境危機，

that plagued the empire throughout the 18th century.

在十八世紀時困擾著這個帝國。

In response to this turmoil,

這場混亂造成的反應是

regional leaders started refusing to pay taxes and broke away from Mughal control.

地區領導者開始拒絕繳稅，

並脫離蒙兀兒的控制。

The British East India Company offered military support to these regional rulers,

英屬東印度公司提供軍事支援 給這些地區統治者，

which in turn increased the company's political influence,

他們則增加了該公司的政治影響力，

enabling it to eventually take direct control of Bengal,

讓該公司最終得以直接控制孟加拉，

one of the wealthiest regions in India.

印度最富有的地區之一。

By the 19th century, the East India Company had massive political influence

到了十九世紀，

東印度公司已有了強大的政治 影響力及一支龐大的常備軍隊，

and a large standing army, which included Indian troops.

軍隊中也有印度士兵。

When these troops revolted in 1857,

這些士兵在 1857 年起義造反，

aiming to force out the British and restore Mughal influence,

目的是要逼走英國人 並恢復蒙兀兒的影響力，

the British government intervened,

此時英國政府介入了，

replacing company rule with direct colonial rule,

以直接殖民統治取代公司統治，

deposing the last Mughal emperor and sending him into exile.

廢黜了最後一位蒙兀兒皇帝，

將他流放。

And so, over three centuries after its founding,

於是，在成立三世紀之後，

the Mughal Empire came to an end.

蒙兀兒帝國宣告終結。