The rise and fall of the medieval Islamic Empire - Petra Sijpesteijn & Birte Kristiansen

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

In the 7th century CE, one man started a chain of events

在西元七世紀，

有一個男人引發了一連串的事件，

that would change the world order for good.

永遠改變了世界的秩序。

The prophet Muhammad united the people of the Arabian Peninsula

先知穆罕默德透過建立伊斯蘭教，

將阿拉伯半島的人民團結起來。

through the formation of Islam.

These people included both nomadic Bedouin tribes

這些人包括游牧的貝都因部落

and the inhabitants of oasis cities like Mecca and Medina.

以及綠洲城市， 如麥加與馬迪那的居民。

Until Muhammad’s time, the region hadn’t been considered a serious match

在穆罕默德時代之前，

這個區域不曾被認為能真正比得上

for the powerful neighboring Persian and Byzantine empires.

旁邊強大的波斯與拜占庭帝國。

But the alliance Muhammad formed was political as well as religious,

但穆罕默德建立的聯盟 是政治也是宗教聯盟，

an empire with Medina as its political heart

這個帝國的政治心臟地帶是馬迪納，

and a force to be reckoned with.

它是股不可小看的勢力。

Muhammad was a one-of-a-kind leader.

穆罕默德是個獨一無二的領導者。

He had been a member of the Quraysh, the tribe that controlled Mecca.

他隸屬於控制麥加的古萊什部落。

After Muhammad’s death,

在穆罕默德過世後，

those close to him deliberated who should succeed him—

與他親近的人便商議 該由誰來繼承他——

a contentious question.

頗具爭議性的問題。

Abū Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law,

穆罕默德的岳父阿布‧巴克爾

emerged victorious and became the new caliph, or successor.

勝出成為新的卡里發，

即繼任者。

Over the next 30 years, four caliphs, all from Muhammad's tribe,

在接下來三十年間，

四任卡里發都來自穆罕默德的部落，

conquered vast areas beyond Arabia,

他們征服了阿拉伯外的大片疆域，

including their mighty neighbors, the Persians and the Byzantines.

包括他們強大的鄰國：

波斯與拜占庭帝國。

But as the empire expanded, dissent within it grew

但隨著帝國擴張，

帝國內的異議也不斷成長，

and a civil war erupted.

爆發了一場內戰。

The fourth caliph, Ali, was assassinated.

第四任卡里發，阿里，遭到刺殺。

Afterwards, the Umayyad Dynasty came to power.

之後，伍麥亞王朝掌權。

The Umayyads were from the same tribe as Muhammad,

伍麥亞人和穆罕默德 來自相同的部落，

but from a different, rival clan.

但屬於不同且敵對的氏族。

They extended the empire’s reach from present-day Spain to India

他們把帝國的領土 從現今的西班牙拓展到印度，

and made Damascus their capital.

並以大馬士革為首都。

But an empire this vast, full of many different peoples,

但這麼龐大的帝國，

有著各種不同的族群，

was at risk of conflict and fracture.

免不了有衝突和分裂的風險。

The Umayyads stabilized it by replacing the ruling elite in conquered territories

烏麥亞人穩定局勢的方式是在 征服領土後就把統治菁英換掉，

with Muslim officials,

換成穆斯林的官員，

while largely allowing the day-to-day customs of local populations—

同時大致上允許 當地人民的日常習俗——

including their religious preferences— to continue.

包含宗教偏好——維持原樣。

Arabic was used as the administrative language,

行政管理用的語言是阿拉伯語，

unifying political affairs across the empire,

統一帝國各地的政治事務，

but people continued to speak and write local languages, too.

但人民也持續說和寫當地的語言。

Still, many in the empire were dissatisfied with Umayyad rule

帝國中仍有許多人不滿烏麥亞政權，

and questioned the dynasty's legitimacy.

並質疑王朝的正當性。

The Abbasid family capitalized on these sentiments,

阿拔斯家族利用了這些情緒，

promoting themselves as more direct descendants of the prophet,

把他們自己宣傳為 更直屬的先知後裔，

though their actual relation to Muhammad was more tenuous than they claimed.

不過他們和穆罕默德的關係 其實沒他們宣稱的那麼密切。

They overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in 750 CE,

西元七五○年， 他們推翻了伍麥亞的統治，

becoming the second great dynasty of the Islamic Empire.

成為伊斯蘭帝國的第二個偉大王朝。

To establish themselves as the new rulers,

為了建立他們自己的新統治者地位，

they relocated the capital once more,

他們再一次遷移了首都，

this time building a new city: Baghdad.

這次建立了一個新城市：巴格達。

Under Abbasid rule, the elite enjoyed a lifestyle of luxury,

在阿拔斯的統治下，

菁英能享受奢侈的生活方式，

thanks to extensive trade networks that brought both products and people

這要歸功於廣大的 貿易網路，將產品及人

from all over the known world to Baghdad.

從已知世界的各地帶到巴格達。

Byzantine, Persian, Indian and Arab cultures and knowledge intermingled,

拜占庭、波斯、印度，

及阿拉伯的文化及知識混合在一起，

leading to artistic and scientific advancement.

讓藝術和科學有長足的進步。

The caliph was wealthy and powerful beyond imagination.

卡里發的財富和權力大到超出想像。

But there was never a clear line of succession

但在繼承上，從來沒有清楚 規定誰能成為下一任卡里發。

dictating who would become the next caliph.

Any male relative of the former caliph was eligible,

凡是前任卡里發的 男性親戚都有資格，

so brothers, nephews, and uncles fought to gain power.

因此兄弟、姪子、叔叔 會為了取得權力而鬥爭。

Within the court, army officers, wives, concubines, and government officials

在法庭內，

軍官、妻子、妾，

以及政府官員都要求瓜分國庫。

all demanded their share of the treasury.

Because the caliph depended on his entourage to stay in power,

因為卡里發要靠他的隨員 才能維持掌權，

each transition of rulership opened the doors for favoritism and corruption.

每一次統治者換人做時， 就會有偏袒和腐敗的機會。

Outside the court,

在法庭外，

many questioned the legitimacy of the caliph,

許多人質疑卡里發的正當性，

noting that the caliph’s religious duty to moral excellence

提出卡里發應該要善盡 道德完美的宗教職責，

was at odds with the court’s decadent displays of wealth.

與法庭上墮落地展示出 大量財富的現象很不一致。

In 1258 CE, the Mongols approached Baghdad.

西元一二五八年，

蒙古人接近巴格達。

They encountered little resistance as they thoroughly destroyed the city.

他們把該城市完全摧毀時， 並沒有遇到太多抵抗。

Legend has it that they rolled the caliph in a rug

傳說他們把卡里發用地毯 捲起來，讓馬把他踩踏到死，

and had horses trample him to death,

and that the Tigris River ran black from the ink of the manuscripts

而手稿被丟入底格里斯河中， 其墨水讓河水變成黑色。

that were thrown into it.

The siege of Baghdad laid bare a longstanding reality:

巴格達的淪陷暴露出 一個存在已久的事實：

for centuries, the caliphs had ruled mostly symbolically.

數世紀來，卡里發的統治 大多是象徵性的。

Local leaders throughout the empire had grown more powerful,

帝國各地的地方領袖勢力越來越大，

and they refused to pay taxes,

且他們拒絕納稅，

spending the money on their own courts instead.

反而把錢用在自己身上。

The time of one united Islamic Empire was over,

一個團結伊斯蘭帝國的到此結束，

but its influence through written and spoken Arabic,

但它的影響，透過 阿拉伯文的文章和語言、

Islam, and the ideas of its greatest intellectuals,

伊斯蘭教，以及其偉大智者的見解，

left a lasting mark on the world.

在世界上留下了無法抹滅的痕跡。