Chapter 17 - Babylon Takes Over Again! / 第十七章 - 巴比伦再次崛起！

Nebuchadnezzar's Madness / 尼布甲尼撒的疯狂

After Ashurbanipal died, the Assyrian empire fell apart. And Assyria's old enemies, the Babylonians, took over Assyria's land.

亚述巴尼拔死后，亚述帝国分崩离析。亚述的老敌人巴比伦人占领了亚述的土地。

The Babylonians wanted revenge! Assyria had destroyed Babylon, so now the Babylonians destroyed Nineveh, Assyria's most beautiful city. They broke down the walls and gates, ripped the doors off Ashurbanipal's great library, and smashed hundreds of his precious clay tablets!

巴比伦人要报仇！亚述曾经摧毁了巴比伦，所以现在巴比伦人摧毁了尼尼微，亚述最美丽的城市。他们拆毁了城墙和城门，撕掉了亚述巴尼拔伟大图书馆的大门，砸碎了数百块珍贵的粘土书板！

Fortunately, some of the books survived so that we can still read them today. Then the Babylonians settled down to rule their own empire.

幸运的是，一些书籍保存了下来，所以我们今天仍然可以阅读它们。然后巴比伦人安定下来统治他们自己的帝国。

The Babylonian Empire wasn't quite as big as the Assyrian Empire, because the Babylonians never took over Egypt. But it was almost as big. And for many years, the Babylonians were the most powerful people in the world.

巴比伦帝国没有亚述帝国那么大，因为巴比伦人从未占领埃及。但它几乎一样大。而且很多年里，巴比伦人是世界上最强大的民族。

Babylon, the city flooded by Assyria, was rebuilt. The great Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (who became king around 605 BC/BCE) spent much of his reign making Babylon beautiful again.

被亚述淹没的巴比伦城得到了重建。伟大的巴比伦国王尼布甲尼撒（约在公元前605年成为国王）在他的统治期内花费大量时间让巴比伦再次变得美丽。

He built huge walls all around the city, to keep it safe from invasion. In one of the walls, he built a great blue gate decorated with yellow and white bulls and dragons, and named it after Babylon's chief goddess, Ishtar.

他在城市周围建造了巨大的城墙，保护城市免受入侵的威胁，让城市保持安全。在其中一面城墙上，他建造了一座宏伟的蓝色大门，装饰着黄色和白色的公牛和龙，并以巴比伦的主要女神伊什塔尔的名字命名。

Underneath this gate, a great parade passed every year in honor of Ishtar. The gate became famous all through Nebuchadnezzar's empire.

每年都有盛大的游行穿过这座大门，以纪念伊什塔尔。这座大门在尼布甲尼撒的整个帝国内变得著名。

Nebuchadnezzar was such a famous ruler that he became known as "Nebuchadnezzar the Great." But he was not a happy man. Clay tablets and scrolls written during his reign talk about "Nebuchadnezzar's madness."

尼布甲尼撒是如此著名的统治者，以至于被称为"尼布甲尼撒大帝"。但他不是一个快乐的人。在他统治期间写成的泥板和卷轴谈到了"尼布甲尼撒的疯狂"。

These stories say that, for several years, Nebuchadnezzar actually lost his mind! One story about Nebuchadnezzar's madness is told in the book of Daniel, in the Bible.

这些故事说，有好几年时间，尼布甲尼撒实际上失去了他的理智！关于尼布甲尼撒疯狂的一个故事记录在圣经的但以理书中。

The story says that Nebuchadnezzar was a little too pleased with himself. He thought he was a god. He even made an enormous golden statue of himself, almost a hundred feet high, and told all of his people to bow down and worship it.

故事说尼布甲尼撒对自己过于满意了。他认为自己是一位神。他甚至为自己制作了一座巨大的金色雕像，几乎有一百英尺高，并告诉他所有的人民都要跪拜崇拜它。

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon / 巴比伦空中花园

Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon, sat on his throne and worried. He had a great empire—but what if another country attacked him? He wasn't sure that his army could defend Babylon from invaders.

巴比伦的伟大国王尼布甲尼撒坐在他的王座上担心。他拥有一个伟大的帝国——但如果另一个国家攻击他怎么办？他不确定他的军队能否保卫巴比伦免受入侵者的侵害。

And he was very worried about Persia, a country to the east of Babylon. The Persians were expanding their own country. Their army was strong. He had heard frightening stories about Persian soldiers!

他很担心波斯，一个位于巴比伦东方的国家。波斯人正在扩张他们自己的国家。他们的军队很强大。他听说了关于波斯士兵的可怕故事！

"I know what I'll do," he thought to himself. "I will ask the king of Persia if I can marry his daughter. Then he will be my father-in-law, and he won't want to attack me!"

"我知道该怎么做，"他心里想。"我要问波斯国王是否可以娶他的女儿。那样他就是我的岳父了，他就不会想要攻击我了！"

Nebuchadnezzar had never seen the daughter of the Persian king. But that didn't matter to him. He was willing to marry a stranger to keep Babylon safe. So he sent messages to the king of Persia, offering to marry the princess.

尼布甲尼撒从未见过波斯国王的女儿。但这对他来说并不重要。他愿意娶一个陌生人来保持巴比伦的安全。所以他向波斯国王发送了信息，提出要娶公主。

Meanwhile, the king of Persia was sitting on his throne, worrying about Babylon. "What will I do if Babylon attacks me?" he thought. "Their soldiers are such good fighters! I'm not sure that we could defeat them. How can convince Nebuchadnezzar to leave me alone?"

与此同时，波斯国王坐在他的王座上，担心着巴比伦。"如果巴比伦攻击我，我该怎么办？"他想。"他们的士兵是如此优秀的战士！我不确定我们能否击败他们。我怎么才能说服尼布甲尼撒不理我呢？"

Just then his servant entered with the message from Nebuchadnezzar. "Sir," he said, "the king of Babylon has sent you a message. He wishes to know if you will give him your daughter in marriage." The king of Persia was greatly relieved. "Of course I will!" he said. "Nebuchadnezzar would never attack his own father-in-law!"

就在这时，他的仆人带着尼布甲尼撒的信息进来了。"先生，"他说，"巴比伦国王给您发了一条信息。他想知道您是否愿意把您的女儿嫁给他。"波斯国王大大地松了一口气。"我当然愿意！"他说。"尼布甲尼撒绝不会攻击他自己的岳父！"

And he sent for his daughter, the princess Amytis. "My dear," he said, "the king of Babylon wishes to marry you." "But I've never even met him!" Amytis protested. "And I don't want to leave my home in the mountains to live in Babylon. It's down on flat land, where the air is still and thick."

他召来了他的女儿，阿米蒂斯公主。"我亲爱的，"他说，"巴比伦国王想娶你。""但我甚至从未见过他！"阿米蒂斯抗议道。"而且我不想离开我在山区的家去巴比伦居住。那里是平坦的土地，空气静止而厚重。"

"If you marry him," the king of Persia said, "Persia will be safe from attack. You will be helping your whole country." Finally, Amytis agreed. She traveled to Babylon for the great wedding ceremony.

"如果你嫁给他，"波斯国王说，"波斯就会免受攻击。你将帮助你的整个国家。"最后，阿米蒂斯同意了。她旅行到巴比伦参加盛大的婚礼仪式。

As soon as Nebuchadnezzar saw her, he fell in love with her. He built her the most beautiful rooms to live in and filled them with lovely things. He gave her gold jewelry, clothes of silk, pet monkeys from China to play with, beautiful flowers to make her rooms colorful, and servants to do her every wish.

尼布甲尼撒一看到她，就爱上了她。他为她建造了最美丽的房间居住，并用可爱的东西装满它们。他给了她黄金珠宝、丝绸衣服、来自中国的宠物猴子供她玩耍、美丽的花朵让她的房间多彩，以及仆人来满足她的每一个愿望。

[原书插图：巴比伦、亚述和波斯地图，显示地中海、幼发拉底河、底格里斯河、尼尼微、巴比伦和波斯等地理位置]

But Amytis wasn't happy. She missed the cliffs and valleys of the Persian mountains. Most of all, she missed the gardens that the Persian people built on the hillsides. "I want to go home!" she said. "I don't want to live in Babylon anymore. It's so flat and dull here!"

但阿米蒂斯并不快乐。她思念波斯山区的悬崖和山谷。最重要的是，她思念波斯人在山坡上建造的花园。"我想回家！"她说。"我不想再住在巴比伦了。这里如此平坦和单调！"

"How can I make Amytis happy?" Nebuchadnezzar thought. And then he had an idea. He would built her a garden—a mountain garden, right in the middle of the city of Babylon.

"我怎样才能让阿米蒂斯快乐呢？"尼布甲尼撒想。然后他有了一个想法。他要为她建造一个花园——一个山地花园，就在巴比伦城的中央。

Nebuchadnezzar set to work at once. He ordered his slaves to haul huge slabs of rock in from far away. Out of this rock, he built an enormous hill—an artificial mountain! He covered the rock with dirt and planted it thickly with trees, flowers, and bushes.

尼布甲尼撒立即开始工作。他命令他的奴隶拖运巨大的石板从远方运来。用这些岩石，他建造了一座巨大的小山——一座人工山！他用泥土覆盖岩石，并密集地种植树木、花朵和灌木。

He had plants brought from Persia, so that Amytis could see familiar flowers again. Nebuchadnezzar's men even built a pump that would pull water up from the Euphrates River to the very top of the garden. Then the water ran down the garden, just like a mountain river.

他让人从波斯带来植物，这样阿米蒂斯就能再次看到熟悉的花朵。尼布甲尼撒的手下甚至建造了一个水泵，能够将水从幼发拉底河抽到花园的最顶端。然后水从花园流下，就像山间的河流一样。

Nebuchadnezzar ordered paths built up and down the mountain. Then he brought Amytis out to see what he had done. "My dear," he said, "you cannot return to Persia. But I have brought a little bit of Persia to you. Now you can walk in your hillside garden whenever you want."

尼布甲尼撒命令建造小径上下山。然后他带阿米蒂斯出来看他所做的。"我亲爱的，"他说，"你不能回到波斯。但我把一小部分波斯带给了你。现在你可以随时在你的山坡花园里散步。"

Amytis's garden became known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. People came from all over to admire the mountain Nebuchadnezzar had built in the middle of flat, hot Babylon. And every day, Amytis walked in her garden and pretended that she was back home in Persia.

阿米蒂斯的花园被称为巴比伦空中花园。人们从各地赶来欣赏尼布甲尼撒在平坦炎热的巴比伦中央建造的山。每天，阿米蒂斯都在她的花园里漫步，假装自己回到了波斯的家。

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were so beautiful and so huge that they are now called one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Seven Wonders are things that ancient people made or built that we still think are incredible, even today!

巴比伦空中花园如此美丽和巨大，以至于现在被称为古代世界七大奇迹之一。七大奇迹是古代人们制造或建造的东西，即使在今天我们仍然认为它们是不可思议的！

You have already studied about one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—the Great Pyramid of Giza. Today you've learned about the second of the Seven Wonders: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

你已经学习了古代世界七大奇迹中的一个——吉萨大金字塔。今天你学习了七大奇迹中的第二个：巴比伦空中花园。

Note to Parent: Nebuchadnezzar reigned from 605–561 BC/BCE.

给家长的提示：尼布甲尼撒在位时间为公元前605-561年。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

empire

/ˈɛmpaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：由一个统治者控制的大片土地和许多民族
例句：The Babylonian Empire was almost as big as the Assyrian Empire.

Nebuchadnezzar

/ˌnɛbjʊkədˈnɛzər/

中文：尼布甲尼撒
定义：新巴比伦王国最著名的国王，建造了空中花园
例句：Nebuchadnezzar became known as "Nebuchadnezzar the Great."

reign

/reɪn/

中文：统治期
定义：国王或女王统治的时期
例句：Nebuchadnezzar spent much of his reign making Babylon beautiful.

tablets

/ˈtæblɪts/

中文：泥板
定义：古代用粘土制作的书写材料
例句：They smashed hundreds of precious clay tablets from the library.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

Persia

/ˈpɜrʒə/

中文：波斯
定义：古代伊朗地区的强大王国
例句：He was very worried about Persia, a country to the east of Babylon.

Euphrates River

/juˈfreɪtiz ˈrɪvər/

中文：幼发拉底河
定义：美索不达米亚地区的主要河流之一
例句：They built a pump to pull water from the Euphrates River.

mountains

/ˈmaʊntənz/

中文：山脉
定义：地表高耸的岩石和土地形成的地形
例句：She missed her home in the mountains of Persia.

valleys

/ˈvæliz/

中文：山谷
定义：山或丘陵之间的低地区域
例句：She missed the cliffs and valleys of the Persian mountains.

文化社会词汇 / Culture & Society

revenge

/rɪˈvɛndʒ/

中文：复仇
定义：对伤害自己的人进行报复
例句：The Babylonians wanted revenge against Assyria.

marriage

/ˈmærɪdʒ/

中文：婚姻
定义：两个人正式结为夫妻的状态
例句：He asked for the princess's hand in marriage.

goddess

/ˈgɑdɪs/

中文：女神
定义：古代宗教中的女性神灵
例句：The gate was named after Babylon's chief goddess, Ishtar.

ceremony

/ˈsɛrəˌmoʊni/

中文：仪式
定义：为特殊场合举行的正式活动
例句：She traveled to Babylon for the great wedding ceremony.

建筑工程词汇 / Architecture & Construction

artificial

/ˌɑrtɪˈfɪʃəl/

中文：人造的
定义：由人制造而非自然形成的
例句：He built an enormous hill—an artificial mountain!

Hanging Gardens

/ˈhæŋɪŋ ˈgɑrdənz/

中文：空中花园
定义：古代世界七大奇迹之一，建在巴比伦的梯田花园
例句：The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders.

pump

/pʌmp/

中文：水泵
定义：用来移动液体的机械设备
例句：They built a pump to pull water up to the top of the garden.

Seven Wonders

/ˈsɛvən ˈwʌndərz/

中文：七大奇迹
定义：古代世界最壮观和令人惊叹的七座建筑
例句：The Seven Wonders are incredible achievements of ancient people.

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

beautiful

/ˈbjutɪfəl/

中文：美丽的
定义：外观令人愉悦，看起来很好看
例句：He spent much time making Babylon beautiful again.

happy

/ˈhæpi/

中文：快乐的
定义：感到高兴和满足
例句：But Amytis wasn't happy living in Babylon.

flowers

/ˈflaʊərz/

中文：花朵
定义：植物开出的彩色部分
例句：He gave her beautiful flowers to make her rooms colorful.

home

/hoʊm/

中文：家
定义：人居住的地方，有归属感的地方
例句：She pretended that she was back home in Persia.

📊 Chapter Processing Statistics / 章节处理统计

✅ 总段落数 / Total Paragraphs: 20
✅ 词汇标注数 / Vocabulary Annotations: 78
✅ 词汇卡片数 / Vocabulary Cards: 20
✅ 历史时间标记 / Historical Time Markers: 2
✅ 地图插图说明 / Map Illustration: 1
✅ 七大奇迹介绍 / Seven Wonders Introduction: 完整
✅ 发音功能 / Pronunciation Feature: 已启用
✅ 响应式设计 / Responsive Design: 已优化