What happened to the lost Kingdom of Kush? - Geoff Emberling

譯者: 芄妤 陳 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

Along the Nile River, in what is now northern Sudan,

沿著尼羅河河畔， 在如今的蘇丹北部，

lay the ancient civilization of Kush.

曾經孕育了古老的庫什文明。

Though they were once conquered by a powerful neighbor,

儘管曾被強大的鄰國征服，

the kings and queens of Kush would go on to successfully challenge

庫什國王與皇后將繼續挑戰 兩個史上最強勢的帝國，

two of the most dominant empires in history.

並成功擊敗對手。

From 1500 to 1100 BCE, Egypt controlled Kush,

西元前 1500 年至 1100 年， 埃及控制了庫什，

introducing many Egyptian cultural and religious practices.

引進許多埃及文化與宗教習俗。

The civilization of Kush was more than a thousand years old at that time.

在此之前，庫什文明 早已存在一千多年。

Its early capital city at Kerma had impressive temples, palaces, and houses,

庫什文明早期位於科爾瑪的首都

有著雄偉的神廟、

富麗的宮殿及華美的房屋。

including a massive mudbrick temple structure that had a chapel deep inside,

其中有一座由泥磚砌成 且規模巨大的廟宇結構，

reached by a long staircase at the center.

中央有一道長階梯 通往深藏其中的教堂。

Rich gold mines helped the Kushites build a flourishing commercial network,

豐富的金礦幫助庫什人建立了 繁榮的商業網路，

making bronze weapons and tools and trading materials like incense,

他們打造青銅製的武器和工具，

並以來自撒哈拉南部的薰香、

animal skins, ivory, and ebony wood from sub-Saharan Africa.

動物毛皮、象牙、黑檀木對外貿易。

The tide started to change for Kush as Egypt descended into civil war.

當埃及陷入內戰時， 庫什趁機獲得有利的轉變。

By 750 BCE, Egypt was divided into local kingdoms with fluctuating alliances.

到了西元前 750 年，

埃及分裂成多個地方王國， 聯盟關係起伏不定。

The Kushite king Piankhy saw an opportunity.

庫什國王皮耶洞燭機先，

He led his navy, flanked by horsemen and archers,

率領海軍以及由騎兵和弓箭手 組成的側翼部隊，

up the Nile to the gateway city of Khemenu.

沿著尼羅河而上， 一路到達門戶城市荷美努。

As Piankhy’s army constructed siege ramps and battle towers,

正當皮耶的軍隊建設攻城坡道 和戰鬥高塔時，

the city’s ruler sent his wives and daughters to negotiate—

荷美努的統治者派出他的妻子 和女兒前往協商——

not with Piankhy, but with the women of his royal household,

但不是和皮耶交涉， 而是與其皇室女性磋商，

later known as kandake,

後世稱這些女性為「坎妲克」，

who were extremely influential in military affairs and political succession.

對於軍事及王位繼承的決策 具有強大的影響力。

At the end of a long siege, Piankhy entered the conquered city

漫長的圍城行動結束後， 皮耶踏入了被俘的城市，

and bitterly criticized the conditions in its stables.

厲聲斥責馬廄的環境。

From there, Piankhy and the Kushite forces

皮耶與庫什部隊在此役之後，

conquered the Egyptian capital of Memphis.

又佔領了埃及首都孟菲斯。

Piankhy installed his sister, Amunirdis, as priestess of the great god Amun,

皮耶任命他的妹妹雅梅纳迪斯 擔任埃及城市底比斯中

in the Egyptian city of Thebes,

偉大之神阿蒙的女祭司。

and left other Kushite officials there before returning to live in Kush.

皮耶再回到庫什前， 將其他官員留在底比斯。

His successors extended control all the way to the Nile Delta.

他的後世將征服的領域 擴展至尼羅河三角洲。

This was a high point for the Empire of Kush:

當時庫什帝國正處於巔峰：

trade thrived, and they built magnificent temples,

貿易往來絡繹不絕， 庫什帝國沿著尼羅河畔

palaces, and pyramid tombs all along the Nile.

建造了宏偉的神廟、堂皇的宮殿 還有高聳的金字塔。

But the Assyrian army was approaching Egypt in its annual campaigns.

然而，亞述軍隊正在其年度的 征戰活動中逼近埃及。

When the Assyrians began to encroach on trade routes near Jerusalem,

當亞述人侵擾耶路撒冷 一帶的貿易路線時，

the Kushite king Taharqo moved to stop them.

庫什國王塔哈爾卡動身阻止這件事。

The Assyrians defeated him with the help of some rebelling Egyptian princes,

亞述在反叛的埃及王子們協助下， 擊敗了塔哈爾卡，

and drove him out of Egypt in the 7th century BCE.

並在西元前七世紀，將他逐出埃及。

The Kushites continued to rule in their homeland for nearly 1,000 years

庫什人又繼續統治了家園近一千年，

that were prosperous and innovative.

其間國泰民安又不斷革新。

They moved their capital farther south to the city of Meroe,

後來首都南遷至麥羅埃，

where they built temples to a new god called Apedemak.

在那建造了新的神祇 亞帕德瑪克的神殿。

They built new cities in the savannah south of the Sahara Desert,

在撒哈拉沙漠以南的草原上 建造新城市，

some of which contained huge reservoirs for water.

部分城市甚至建有巨大的水庫。

When the Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 31 BCE,

當羅馬帝國於西元前 31 年 攻取埃及時，

Kushite armies again traveled north, led by Queen Amanirenas.

皇后雅曼妮瑞絲帶領 庫什軍隊再次北征。

She led them to success in battle against the Romans,

她統率軍隊成功擊敗羅馬人，

capturing the bronze head of a statue of the Roman emperor Augustus,

俘獲羅馬皇帝奧古斯都銅像的頭部，

and bringing it back to Kush.

並將其帶回庫什。

They buried it under the doorway of a temple in the capital,

他們將銅像頭部埋在 首都神殿出入口處的地下，

so that worshippers would step on it as they crossed the threshold.

如此一來，當朝聖者跨過門檻時， 就會踩在銅像頭部上方。

After brokering peace with the Romans, Kush continued to prosper.

與羅馬達成和平協議後， 庫什持續繁榮富強。

Over time, however, groups of people called the Noba raided from the west,

然而隨著時間推移， 一群名為諾巴的人從西邊發動突襲，

and trade routes were disrupted by the rising kingdom of Aksum.

貿易路線也遭崛起的 阿克蘇姆王國打斷。

Around 350 CE, the Aksumite king sacked Meroe,

大約在西元 350 年時， 阿克蘇姆國王洗劫了麥羅埃。

effectively bringing Kushite rule to an end.

為庫什的統治劃下句點。

Since then, some have argued that Kush’s history has been overlooked

在那之後，有人認為庫什的歷史

遭到世世代代歐洲 及美國學者的忽視。

by generations of European and American scholars

who promoted the idea that Egypt was part of the origin of Western civilization,

他們提倡埃及也是 西方文明起源的一部分，

while Kush, as an African culture, was excluded.

然而同樣是非洲文明，

他們卻排除庫什 與西方文明起源的關聯。

Today, there’s still much to learn about Kush—

現今，庫什仍有許多未解之謎，

including a writing system we haven’t deciphered fully.

包含我們尚未完全解譯的書寫系統。