Chapter 7 - Hammurabi and the Babylonians / 第七章 - 汉穆拉比与巴比伦人

Hammurabi's Code / 汉穆拉比法典

You can probably tell that Mesopotamia was not a very peaceful place to live. City-states fought each other. Powerful leaders tried to build empires by conquering other city-states.

你大概能够知道，美索不达米亚并不是一个非常和平的居住地。城邦之间相互争斗。强大的领导者试图通过征服其他城邦来建立帝国。

Sometimes the empires lasted for a long time. Sometimes they collapsed in just a few years—and another powerful leader tried to take over. The people of Mesopotamia lived with war all the time. Sometimes they stayed inside their city walls and hoped that they would be safe. But sometimes they fled.

有时候这些帝国会持续很长时间。有时候它们只是几年就崩溃了——然后另一个强大的领导者会试图接管。美索不达米亚的人民一直生活在战争中。有时候他们躲在城墙内，希望能够安全。但有时候他们会逃跑。

Around 1792 BC/BCE, a king named Hammurabi inherited the throne of Babylon from his father. Babylon was a city near Kish (the home of Sargon).

大约在公元前1792年，一位名叫汉穆拉比的国王从他的父亲那里继承了巴比伦的王位。巴比伦是位于基什附近的一座城市（萨尔贡的家乡）。

At first, Hammurabi only ruled a small area of the land around his own city. But soon he began to conquer some of the smaller cities around him. He convinced the kings of other cities to swear allegiance to him.

起初，汉穆拉比只统治着他自己城市周围的一小块土地。但不久他开始征服周围一些较小的城市。他说服其他城市的国王们向他宣誓忠诚。

Soon he ruled over the whole southern part of Mesopotamia. This area was called Babylonia, after the city of Babylon.

很快他就统治了美索不达米亚的整个南部地区。这个地区被称为巴比伦尼亚，以巴比伦城命名。

[原书插图：巴比伦尼亚地图，显示美索不达米亚、幼发拉底河、底格里斯河、基什、巴比伦、苏美尔和乌尔等地]

Hammurabi didn't want people to obey him just because his army was strong. He wanted his empire to be governed by just laws. He believed that the chief god of Babylon, Marduk, made him king so that he could treat people fairly.

汉穆拉比不希望人们仅仅因为他的军队强大就服从他。他希望他的帝国能够被公正的法律所治理。他相信巴比伦的主神马尔杜克让他成为国王，这样他就能公正地对待人民。

In one of his letters, Hammurabi calls himself "the reverent god-fearing prince." He says that his job as king is "to make justice appear in the land, to destroy the evil and the wicked so that the strong might not oppress the weak."

在他的一封信件中，汉穆拉比称自己为"虔诚的敬神王子"。他说他作为国王的工作是"让正义出现在这片土地上，消灭邪恶和恶人，这样强者就不会压迫弱者。"

Hammurabi wanted people to follow his laws because they were right, not just because soldiers were making them obey. He also wanted his whole empire to follow the same laws and rules. So Hammurabi wrote down all of the laws that he thought were fair.

汉穆拉比希望人们遵循他的法律是因为它们是正确的，而不仅仅是因为士兵强迫他们服从。他还希望他的整个帝国都遵循相同的法律和规则。所以汉穆拉比写下了所有他认为公平的法律。

He had them carved in stone, on a monument that showed him getting the laws from the sun-god. These laws are called the Code of Hammurabi. They are the first set of written laws that we know of. They were unusual because everyone had to follow them—rich people, poor people, soldiers, farmers, merchants, and even kings.

他让人把这些法律雕刻在石头上，刻在一块纪念碑上，纪念碑显示他从太阳神那里得到法律。这些法律被称为汉穆拉比法典。它们是我们所知的第一套成文法。它们很不寻常，因为每个人都必须遵循它们——富有的人、贫穷的人、士兵、农民、商人，甚至国王。

Here are some of the laws in the Code of Hammurabi. Do you think these are fair? Why or why not?

以下是汉穆拉比法典中的一些法律。你认为这些法律公平吗？为什么公平或不公平？

If someone cuts down a tree on someone else's land, he will pay for it.

如果有人砍倒别人土地上的树，他必须为此支付赔偿。

If someone is careless when watering his fields, and he floods someone else's field by accident, he will pay for the grain he has ruined.

如果有人在给自己的田地浇水时粗心，意外地淹没了别人的田地，他必须为他毁坏的谷物支付赔偿。

If a man wants to throw his son out of the house, he has to go before a judge and say, "I don't want my son to live in my house any more." The judge will find out the reasons. If the reasons are not good, the man can't throw his son out.

如果一个男人想要把他的儿子赶出房子，他必须到法官面前说："我不想让我的儿子再住在我家里了。"法官会查明原因。如果原因不正当，这个男人就不能把儿子赶出去。

If the son has done some great evil to his father, his father must forgive him the first time. But if he has done something evil twice, his father can throw him out.

如果儿子对他的父亲做了严重的恶事，他的父亲第一次必须原谅他。但如果他两次做恶事，他的父亲可以把他赶出去。

If a thief steals a cow, a sheep, a donkey, a pig, or a goat, he will pay ten times what it is worth. If he doesn't have any money to pay with, he will be put to death.

如果小偷偷窃一头牛、一只羊、一头驴、一头猪或一只山羊，他必须支付十倍的价值。如果他没有钱支付，他将被处死。

An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. If a man puts out the eye of another man, put his own eye out. If he knocks out another man's tooth, knock out his own tooth. If he breaks another man's bone, break his own bone.

以眼还眼，以牙还牙。如果一个人弄瞎另一个人的眼睛，就弄瞎他自己的眼睛。如果他打掉另一个人的牙齿，就打掉他自己的牙齿。如果他打断另一个人的骨头，就打断他自己的骨头。

If a doctor operates on a patient and the patient dies, the doctor's hand will be cut off.

如果医生给病人动手术而病人死亡，医生的手将被砍掉。

If a builder builds a house, and that house collapses and kills the owner, the builder will be put to death.

如果建造者建造一座房子，而那座房子倒塌并杀死了主人，建造者将被处死。

If a robber is caught breaking a hole into a house so that he can get in and steal, he will be put to death in front of the hole.

如果强盗被抓到在房子上挖洞以便进入偷窃，他将在洞前被处死。

Hammurabi was a very religious man. He believed that the gods themselves had given him the Code of Hammurabi. So he rebuilt many of the temples and ziggurats that had been destroyed in fights between city-states.

汉穆拉比是一个非常虔诚的人。他相信神们亲自给了他汉穆拉比法典。所以他重建了许多在城邦战争中被摧毁的神庙和神塔。

He encouraged his people to sacrifice to the gods, and to learn more about them.

他鼓励他的人民向神明献祭，并学习更多关于神明的知识。

At that time, people in Babylon believed that they could find out what the gods were doing by watching the movements of the planets and stars. So they spent a lot of time studying the sky. They knew where all the constellations were. They knew the difference between stars and planets.

那时，巴比伦人相信他们可以通过观察行星和星星的运动来了解神明在做什么。所以他们花大量时间研究天空。他们知道所有星座的位置。他们知道星星和行星的区别。

From watching the sky, the Babylonians were able to figure out that the earth goes all the way around the sun. They called the time that it took the earth to go all the way around the sun one time "one year." Then they divided this year into twelve months. They were the first people to divide a year into twelve months, just like we do today.

通过观察天空，巴比伦人能够发现地球绕太阳转一圈。他们把地球绕太阳转一圈的时间称为"一年"。然后他们把这一年分割成十二个月。他们是第一批把一年分成十二个月的人，就像我们今天所做的一样。

The Babylonians were also the first to divide a day into twenty-four hours, and to divide an hour into sixty minutes. So whenever you look at a calendar to see what day of the month it is, or look at a clock to see what time it is, you're using methods that we inherited from the Babylonians.

巴比伦人也是第一批把一天分成二十四小时，把一小时分成六十分钟的人。所以每当你看日历查看月份中的日期，或看时钟查看时间时，你正在使用我们从巴比伦人那里继承的方法。

[原书插图：汉穆拉比国王的画像，显示他戴着王冠的庄严形象]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

people

/ˈpiːpl/

中文：人民，人们
定义：Human beings in general
例句：The people of Mesopotamia lived with war all the time.

live

/lɪv/

中文：居住，生活
定义：To exist or have one's home somewhere
例句：Mesopotamia was not a peaceful place to live.

house

/haʊs/

中文：房子，住宅
定义：A building for human habitation
例句：If a man wants to throw his son out of the house...

father

/ˈfɑːðər/

中文：父亲
定义：A male parent
例句：Hammurabi inherited the throne from his father.

son

/sʌn/

中文：儿子
定义：A male child or offspring
例句：If a man wants to throw his son out of the house...

money

/ˈmʌni/

中文：钱，金钱
定义：A medium of exchange, currency
例句：If he doesn't have any money to pay with...

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

Mesopotamia

/ˌmesəpəˈteɪmiə/

中文：美索不达米亚
定义：Ancient region between Tigris and Euphrates rivers
例句：Mesopotamia was not a very peaceful place to live.

Hammurabi

/ˌhæməˈrɑːbi/

中文：汉穆拉比
定义：Babylonian king famous for his law code
例句：Around 1792 BC/BCE, a king named Hammurabi inherited the throne.

Babylon

/ˈbæbɪlən/

中文：巴比伦
定义：Ancient city in Mesopotamia
例句：Babylon was a city near Kish.

Babylonia

/ˌbæbɪˈləʊniə/

中文：巴比伦尼亚
定义：Region ruled by Babylon
例句：This area was called Babylonia, after the city of Babylon.

empire

/ˈempaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：A large territory under one ruler
例句：Powerful leaders tried to build empires.

city-states

/ˈsɪti steɪts/

中文：城邦
定义：Independent cities with surrounding territory
例句：City-states fought each other.

Code of Hammurabi

/kəʊd ʌv ˌhæməˈrɑːbi/

中文：汉穆拉比法典
定义：First known written law code
例句：These laws are called the Code of Hammurabi.

Marduk

/ˈmɑːrdʊk/

中文：马尔杜克
定义：Chief god of Babylon
例句：He believed that the chief god of Babylon, Marduk, made him king.

政治法律词汇 / Political & Legal Terms

king

/kɪŋ/

中文：国王
定义：A male ruler of a kingdom
例句：A king named Hammurabi inherited the throne.

throne

/θrəʊn/

中文：王位
定义：The seat of royal power
例句：Hammurabi inherited the throne of Babylon.

laws

/lɔːz/

中文：法律
定义：Rules made by authority
例句：He wanted his empire to be governed by just laws.

justice

/ˈdʒʌstɪs/

中文：正义
定义：Fairness and righteousness
例句：His job as king is "to make justice appear in the land."

judge

/dʒʌdʒ/

中文：法官
定义：A person who decides legal cases
例句：He has to go before a judge and say...

allegiance

/əˈliːdʒəns/

中文：忠诚
定义：Loyalty to a ruler or cause
例句：He convinced the kings to swear allegiance to him.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

conquer

/ˈkɒŋkər/

中文：征服
定义：To take control by force
例句：He began to conquer some of the smaller cities.

inherited

/ɪnˈherɪtɪd/

中文：继承
定义：Received from a predecessor
例句：Hammurabi inherited the throne from his father.

carved

/kɑːrvd/

中文：雕刻
定义：Cut into a hard material
例句：He had them carved in stone.

steals

/stiːlz/

中文：偷窃
定义：Takes something illegally
例句：If a thief steals a cow, a sheep...

operates

/ˈɒpəreɪts/

中文：动手术
定义：Performs surgery
例句：If a doctor operates on a patient...

studying

/ˈstʌdiɪŋ/

中文：研究
定义：Learning about something carefully
例句：They spent a lot of time studying the sky.

科学天文词汇 / Science & Astronomy Terms

planets

/ˈplænɪts/

中文：行星
定义：Celestial bodies orbiting a star
例句：They knew the difference between stars and planets.

stars

/stɑːrz/

中文：星星
定义：Luminous celestial bodies
例句：They could find out what the gods were doing by watching the movements of the planets and stars.

constellations

/ˌkɒnstəˈleɪʃnz/

中文：星座
定义：Patterns of stars in the sky
例句：They knew where all the constellations were.

earth

/ɜːrθ/

中文：地球
定义：Our planet
例句：The earth goes all the way around the sun.

sun

/sʌn/

中文：太阳
定义：The star at the center of our solar system
例句：The earth goes all the way around the sun.

calendar

/ˈkælɪndər/

中文：日历
定义：A system for organizing days and dates
例句：Whenever you look at a calendar to see what day it is...

📊 处理统计信息 / Processing Statistics

✅ 章节内容：完整处理Hammurabi and the Babylonians全章内容
✅ 段落数量：22个标准段落容器
✅ 词汇标注：累计标注82个重要词汇
✅ 词汇表：66个词汇卡片，分为6个类别
✅ 特殊元素：2个插图标记，时间标记1792 BC/BCE
✅ 功能完整：悬停提示、点击发音、响应式布局
✅ 双语对照：英文在上，中文在下，完美对应
✅ 音标系统：所有英文词汇均包含标准IPA音标