Chapter 8 - The Assyrians / 第八章 - 亚述人

Hammurabi汉谟拉比 - 巴比伦王/hæməˈrɑːbi/ was the most powerful强大的/ˈpaʊərfəl/ king国王/kɪŋ/ in southern Mesopotamia美索不达米亚/ˌmesəpəˈteɪmiə/. But up to the north北方/nɔːrθ/, another king was building建造/ˈbɪldɪŋ/ another empire帝国/ˈempaɪər/. His name was Shamshi-Adad沙姆希-阿达德/ˈʃæmʃi ˈædæd/, and he didn't want to be a fair公正的/feər/ ruler统治者/ˈruːlər/ who made good laws法律/lɔːz/. He just wanted to rule统治/ruːl/ the whole整个/hoʊl/ world世界/wɜːrld/.

Shamshi-Adad lived居住/lɪvd/ in a city城市/ˈsɪti/ called Assur阿苏尔城/ˈæsʊr/. Babylon巴比伦/ˈbæbɪlən/ was in the south南方/saʊθ/ of Mesopotamia, next to the Euphrates幼发拉底河/juːˈfreɪtiːz/ River河流/ˈrɪvər/. But Assur was in the north北方/nɔːrθ/ part of Mesopotamia, beside the Tigris底格里斯河/ˈtaɪɡrɪs/ River.

When Shamshi-Adad became成为/bɪˈkeɪm/ king of Assur, he decided决定/dɪˈsaɪdɪd/ that Assur should be the center中心/ˈsentər/ of a new empire. He started开始/ˈstɑːrtɪd/ out by building a huge巨大的/hjuːdʒ/ temple神庙/ˈtempəl/ to the god神/ɡɑːd/ he worshipped崇拜/ˈwɜːrʃɪpt/, The God of Winds风/wɪndz/ and Storms暴风雨/stɔːrmz/. The temple was made out of cedar雪松/ˈsiːdər/ logs原木/lɔːɡz/, covered with silver银/ˈsɪlvər/ and gold金/ɡoʊld/. Shamshi-Adad even rubbed the foundation地基/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/ with oil油/ɔɪl/, honey蜂蜜/ˈhʌni/, and butter黄油/ˈbʌtər/ to make his god happy高兴/ˈhæpi/. He wanted The God of Winds and Storms to be on his side一边/saɪd/ and to give him more power力量/ˈpaʊər/, so that he could win获胜/wɪn/ battles战斗/ˈbætəlz/ more easily.

On the day日子/deɪ/ that the temple was finished完成/ˈfɪnɪʃt/, Shamshi-Adad announced宣布/əˈnaʊnst/, "The God of Winds and Storms loves爱/lʌvz/ the city of Assur more than any other city in the world! And he wants me to be the king of the whole world." The people人民/ˈpiːpəl/ of Assur all shouted喊叫/ˈʃaʊtɪd/, "Shamshi-Adad will be king of the whole world!"

Then Shamshi-Adad gathered聚集/ˈɡæðərd/ his army军队/ˈɑːrmi/ together and set off to conquer征服/ˈkɑːŋkər/ the cities of Mesopotamia. His two sons儿子/sʌnz/ went with him to fight战斗/faɪt/ beside him. Every time Shamshi-Adad conquered a new city, he made his sons the new rulers统治者/ˈruːlərz/ of that city. Soon the Assyrian亚述的/əˈsɪriən/ army had conquered all the cities nearby附近/ˈnɪrbaɪ/!

Shamshi-Adad wanted the people of Mesopotamia to be afraid害怕/əˈfreɪd/ of him. He was a dictator独裁者/ˈdɪkteɪtər/—he didn't allow any of the people in his new kingdom王国/ˈkɪŋdəm/ to ask questions问题/ˈkwestʃənz/ about his laws and his commands命令/kəˈmændz/. He just wanted them to obey服从/oʊˈbeɪ/ him immediately.

How did he get them to obey? He killed杀死/kɪld/ anyone who wouldn't do exactly what he said! When he conquered a city, he chopped砍掉/tʃɑːpt/ off the heads头/hedz/ of all the leaders领导者/ˈliːdərz/ and put them up on stakes木桩/steɪks/ around the city. He burned燃烧/bɜːrnd/ buildings建筑物/ˈbɪldɪŋz/ and told his soldiers士兵/ˈsoʊldʒərz/ to destroy破坏/dɪˈstrɔɪ/ everything they could find.

No wonder奇怪/ˈwʌndər/ everyone in Mesopotamia was afraid of the Assyrians! Soon, Shamshi-Adad didn't even have to fight battles to conquer cities. As soon as he got near a city's walls城墙/wɔːlz/, the leaders would come out and surrender投降/səˈrendər/. They would offer提供/ˈɔːfər/ to pay him money钱/ˈmʌni/ and to call him their king, if he would just let them live活着/lɪv/. Shamshi-Adad would agree to spare饶恕/sper/ their lives—but only if they would do exactly what he said and obey every single one of his decrees法令/dɪˈkriːz/.

Now Shamshi-Adad's empire spread扩展/spred/ all over the northern part of Mesopotamia. He named命名/neɪmd/ his empire Assyria亚述/əˈsɪriə/, after the city of Assur. And he called himself the King of the Whole World.

But this wasn't exactly true真实的/truː/. Remember Babylon, down in the south of Mesopotamia? Babylon had an empire too. Shamshi-Adad never tried to conquer Babylon, or to take Babylon's cities away. He knew that Babylon was too strong强大/strɔːŋ/ for him.

When Shamshi-Adad died死了/daɪd/, he left one of his sons the job工作/dʒɑːb/ of ruling over the whole Assyrian Empire. He left the other son in charge负责/tʃɑːrdʒ/ of one of biggest cities in Assyria, the city of Mari马里城/ˈmɑːri/. He hoped希望/hoʊpt/ that the two young men would work工作/wɜːrk/ together to keep his empire strong.

But the brothers兄弟/ˈbrʌðərz/ bickered争吵/ˈbɪkərd/ with each other. They wrote each other nasty恶毒的/ˈnæsti/ letters信件/ˈletərz/. They complained抱怨/kəmˈpleɪnd/ about each other. They didn't keep Assyria united团结/juˈnaɪtɪd/ and strong.

Soon, Hammurabi decided that he wanted to make Assyria part of the Babylonian Empire. He marched行军/mɑːrtʃt/ up into northern Mesopotamia with his army. He destroyed the city of Mari, and he took over the city of Assur. Now the Assyrians had to pay tribute贡品/ˈtrɪbjuːt/ to Hammurabi, and call Hammurabi "King of the Whole World."

But Hammurabi wasn't as cruel残忍的/kruːəl/ as Shamshi-Adad had been. He let some of the Assyrian leaders stay in charge of their cities, as long as they followed his Code of Laws. And he didn't chop off the heads of leaders, or burn their houses房屋/ˈhaʊzɪz/. The Assyrians agreed to obey Hammurabi—but all the time, they were thinking, "One day we will be free自由/friː/ again—and we will try to conquer the world one more time."

Both the Babylonians巴比伦人/ˌbæbɪˈloʊniənz/ and the Assyrians told stories故事/ˈstɔːriz/ about a great, mythical神话的/ˈmɪθɪkəl/ king named Gilgamesh吉尔伽美什/ˈɡɪlɡəmɛʃ/. The story of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest fairy童话/ˈferi/ tales故事/teɪlz/ in the world!

Once upon a time, a king named Gilgamesh ruled the city of Uruk乌鲁克/ˈʊrʊk/. Gilgamesh was half-god半神/hæf ɡɑːd/, and half-man半人/hæf mæn/. He was the strongest最强的/ˈstrɔːŋɡəst/ man on earth地球/ɜːrθ/. He could lift举起/lɪft/ huge stones石头/stoʊnz/ with one hand手/hænd/ and leap跳跃/liːp/ over high walls without even trying hard. He was young年轻/jʌŋ/ and healthy健康/ˈhelθi/, and he had all the money and power any man could ever want.

But Gilgamesh was as cruel as he was strong. He made the people of Uruk serve服侍/sɜːrv/ him day and night. He took their money and their food食物/fuːd/. He took their children孩子/ˈtʃɪldrən/ to be his slaves奴隶/sleɪvz/. He never thought of others—only of himself.

The people of Uruk were desperate绝望的/ˈdespərət/ to get rid of this wicked邪恶的/ˈwɪkɪd/ king. So they called out to the sky-god天神/skaɪ ɡɑːd/, Anu阿努/ˈɑːnuː/. "Help us!" they cried. "Our king is evil邪恶的/ˈiːvəl/, and we cannot fight him, because he has the strength力量/streŋθ/ of a god!"

Anu looked down from the sky and was very unhappy不高兴/ʌnˈhæpi/. "Look at this king, Gilgamesh!" he said. "He has all the strength and power in the world—and yet he is cruel to the weak弱小的/wiːk/ and helpless无助的/ˈhelpləs/! This is not right. I will send an enemy敌人/ˈenəmi/ to teach him a lesson教训/ˈlesən/."

So Anu created创造/kriˈeɪtɪd/ a monster怪物/ˈmɑːnstər/ called Enkidu恩奇都/ˈenkɪduː/—a monster who was half man and half animal动物/ˈænɪməl/, with the strength of a dozen lions狮子/ˈlaɪənz/. "Go and fight Gilgamesh," he told Enkidu, and sent the beast-man野兽人/biːst mæn/ down into the wild wastelands荒地/ˈweɪstlændz/ around the city of Uruk.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh had a nightmare噩梦/ˈnaɪtmer/! He dreamed梦见/driːmd/ that a huge axe斧子/æks/ appeared at his door—an axe so big and sharp锋利的/ʃɑːrp/ that he couldn't even lift it. When he woke醒来/woʊk/ up, he asked his mother母亲/ˈmʌðər/ what the dream梦/driːm/ meant. "A man is coming who can destroy you!" his mother told him. "You will have to make friends朋友/frendz/ with him—or die!"

Enkidu came closer and closer to the city of Uruk. But in the forest森林/ˈfɔːrəst/ outside the city's walls, he met the son of a trapper捕猎者/ˈtræpər/, out checking his father's traps陷阱/træps/. When the boy saw the naked裸体的/ˈneɪkɪd/ wildman野人/ˈwaɪldmæn/, he was frightened. But he felt sorry同情/ˈsɔːri/ for Enkidu, because the beast-man had no clothes衣服/kloʊðz/ or food, and could not even speak说话/spiːk/. So he took Enkidu home with him and introduced him to his friends, shepherds牧羊人/ˈʃepərdz/ who tended their flocks羊群/flɑːks/ outside the city walls. Enkidu lived with the trapper's son and the shepherds for a long time. They taught him how to talk交谈/tɔːk/, how to eat吃/iːt/, and how to wear clothes.

One day, Enkidu and his friends went into Uruk, to the wedding婚礼/ˈwedɪŋ/ of a great man who was giving a feast盛宴/fiːst/ for the whole city. But during the wedding feast, Gilgamesh decided that he wanted the bride新娘/braɪd/. He marched into the hall大厅/hɔːl/, grabbed the beautiful girl, and started to drag her away.

Enkidu was furious愤怒的/ˈfjʊriəs/. He leaped up in front of the door. "You may be the king," he shouted, "but you'll have to kill me before you take this woman away from her bridegroom新郎/ˈbraɪdɡruːm/!"

No one had ever told Gilgamesh what to do! He leaped at Enkidu and tried to wrestle摔跤/ˈresəl/ him to the ground. They fought all up and down the wedding hall until the food was smashed粉碎/smæʃt/ underfoot and both of them were bleeding流血/ˈbliːdɪŋ/. Gilgamesh had never before met anyone so strong. Finally he won the match比赛/mætʃ/—he pinned Enkidu down and sat on him. But he was so tired疲倦的/ˈtaɪərd/ from fighting that he could barely move. He gasped out, "Let us be friends from now on!"

From then on, Enkidu and Gilgamesh were friends. Gilgamesh became kinder to the people in his city, and he and Enkidu had many adventures冒险/ədˈventʃərz/ together.

One day, the bull公牛/bʊl/ of the gods escaped逃脱/ɪˈskeɪpt/ from the sky and came down to earth. It came charging through Gilgamesh's kingdom, killing hundreds of people. It was so powerful that whenever it breathed呼吸/briːðd/, huge holes and chasms裂缝/ˈkæzəmz/ opened up in the earth. The people called to Gilgamesh and Enkidu for help. Enkidu killed the bull and delivered拯救/dɪˈlɪvərd/ the whole country.

But the gods were angry愤怒/ˈæŋɡri/ with Enkidu for killing their bull. They sent terrible illness疾病/ˈɪlnəs/ upon him. He suffered遭受/ˈsʌfərd/ in pain痛苦/peɪn/ for twelve days, and then died.

Gilgamesh mourned哀悼/mɔːrnd/ his friend's death. He ordered the whole world to weep哭泣/wiːp/ over Enkidu. He stopped taking baths洗澡/bæθs/; he even stopped eating. He could not bear the thought that death had taken Enkidu away. Finally, he decided that he would have to find the secret秘密/ˈsiːkrət/ of eternal永恒的/ɪˈtɜːrnəl/ life and conquer death itself.

He decided to go see Utnapishtim乌特纳皮什提姆/ʊtˈnæpɪʃtɪm/—the only immortal不朽的/ɪˈmɔːrtəl/ man on the whole earth. He traveled旅行/ˈtrævəld/ for a year and a day, and finally reached Utnapishtim's home.

"What is the secret of eternal life?" he asked Utnapishtim.

"If you can stay awake醒着/əˈweɪk/ for six days and seven nights," Utnapishtim told him, "you too can become immortal."

Gilgamesh agreed—and instantly fell asleep睡着/əˈsliːp/. He woke up seven days later. "Give me another chance机会/tʃæns/!" he begged.

"Well," Utnapishtim said, "there is one more chance for you. If you can swim游泳/swɪm/ all the way down to the bottom of the ocean海洋/ˈoʊʃən/, you will find a magical plant植物/plænt/ that lives on the sea's bottom. Pick it and eat吃/iːt/ it, and you will become young again."

Gilgamesh leaped up, tied a stone石头/stoʊn/ to his feet, and jumped into the ocean. He sank all the way down to the bottom. There he found the magic plant. He picked it, swam back up to the top of the ocean, and began the long journey旅程/ˈdʒɜːrni/ home. "When I get home," he thought, "I will eat the plant, and then I will live forever."

But one night, while Gilgamesh slept, a snake蛇/sneɪk/ slithered up to him and found the plant. It smelled闻到/smeld/ good—so the snake ate it, and immediately became young again. That is why snakes shed脱落/ʃed/ their skins皮肤/skɪnz/. When they begin to get old, they just climb out of their wrinkled, old skins and become young again.

But Gilgamesh woke up to find his magic plant gone. He went home to Uruk, weeping and mourning. And like all men, he became old and died.

But his story was told to all the children of Uruk, and has been told to all their children, and to their children's children, until this very day.

Note to Parent: The Gilgamesh Epic was composed between 3000–1200 BC/BCE.