Chapter 7 - Islam Becomes an Empire / 第七章 - 伊斯兰成为帝国

Muhammad穆罕默德/mʊˈhæməd/ lived in Medina麦地那/məˈdiːnə/ for two years. The Muslims穆斯林/ˈmʊzlɪmz/ who had come to Medina from Mecca麦加/ˈmekə/ obeyed Muhammad's teachings教导/ˈtiːtʃɪŋz/ and did whatever he commanded命令/kəˈmændɪd/. And soon, so did the people who had always lived in Medina!

They came to him with their difficulties困难/ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/ and their questions问题/ˈkwestʃənz/. "Muhammad," one man might say, "I promised承诺/ˈprɒmɪst/ to pay my neighbor邻居/ˈneɪbə/ two pieces of gold金子/ɡəʊld/ for his camel骆驼/ˈkæməl/."

Now Muhammad was more than just a prophet先知/ˈprɒfɪt/. He was also the ruler统治者/ˈruːlə/ of a city. He had to be a judge法官/dʒʌdʒ/ and a king国王/kɪŋ/ as well as a preacher传教士/ˈpriːtʃə/. And the people of Medina followed the laws法律/lɔːz/ that Muhammad made.

Muhammad's new laws made life in Medina peaceful和平的/ˈpiːsfəl/. But the city of Medina had other problems问题/ˈprɒbləmz/. There was barely enough food食物/fuːd/ and water水/ˈwɔːtə/ in Medina to take care of the people who had always lived there. And now Muhammad's followers追随者/ˈfɒləʊəz/ needed food and water as well.

So several of the city leaders领导者/ˈliːdəz/ went to visit Muhammad. "Prophet," they said, "our children孩子们/ˈtʃɪldrən/ are hungry饥饿的/ˈhʌŋɡri/. There's barely enough water to keep us alive活着/əˈlaɪv/. What will we do?"

Muhammad thought for a long while. Finally, he said, "Go out to the high road, and wait until you see a caravan商队/ˈkærəvæn/ of camels taking food and supplies物资/səˈplaɪz/ to the city of Mecca. Then raid袭击/reɪd/ the caravans, and take the food and water!"

For weeks, the Muslims raided袭击/ˈreɪdɪd/ the caravans headed for Mecca. Soon the leaders of Mecca grew angry愤怒的/ˈæŋɡri/. "What will happen to us here in Mecca?" they complained. "The caravans are empty空的/ˈempti/ when they arrive at our walls!"

So the army军队/ˈɑːmi/ of Mecca marched out towards Medina. When Muhammad heard that Mecca's army was on its way, he gathered his own army together and marched out to meet them. The two armies met at a place called the Wells井/welz/ of Badr. They fought until the Meccans admitted defeat失败/dɪˈfiːt/. The fight became known as the Battle战役/ˈbætəl/ of Badr.

But the quarrel争吵/ˈkwɒrəl/ between Mecca and Medina didn't end. The two cities fought with each other for seven more years! Meanwhile, Muhammad and his men convinced more and more Arabian tribes部落/traɪbz/ to become Muslims. Now Muhammad had many allies盟友/ˈælaɪz/, willing to fight with him.

Finally, Muhammad and ten thousand Muslim followers marched towards Mecca. When the weary, battle-scarred Meccans saw Muhammad's huge force, they surrendered投降/səˈrendəd/. The Muslims entered Mecca triumphantly胜利地/traɪˈʌmfəntli/. They burned all the idols偶像/ˈaɪdəlz/ in the city and declared it the Holy City圣城/ˈhəʊli ˈsɪti/ of Islam.

Now Muhammad ruled in Mecca. Soon, Muhammad and his followers ruled most of the Arabian peninsula半岛/pəˈnɪnsjʊlə/ too. More and more Arabian tribes became Muslims. And Muhammad went on telling them what Allah阿拉/ˈælə/ wanted them to do. Now Islam wasn't just a religion宗教/rɪˈlɪdʒən/ followed by a few tribes in the Arabian desert. Islam had its own empire帝国/ˈempaɪə/!

Muhammad was the leader of this empire. But one day, Muhammad complained that he had a headache头痛/ˈhedeɪk/. He lay down to rest—and never got up again. The Prophet was dead死了/ded/!

Now what would happen to the empire of Islam? Muhammad was the prophet of Allah! Who else could tell the people what Allah required? The Muslims of Mecca gathered together to ask each other what they should do next. And many of them began to panic恐慌/ˈpænɪk/. "Can anyone else lead us?" they asked. "What if Islam vanishes消失/ˈvænɪʃɪz/, now that Muhammad is dead?"

But Muhammad's friend Abu Bakr阿布·巴克尔/ˈæbuː ˈbækər/ stood up. "Friends," Abu Bakr said, "Muhammad is only the messenger使者/ˈmesɪndʒə/ of Allah. We follow Allah alone! Muhammad may be dead, but Islam lives!" When the Muslims heard Abu Bakr's words, they became calmer. So they chose Abu Bakr to be their new leader, or caliph哈里发/ˈkeɪlɪf/.

Abu Bakr wasn't a big, powerful man. He was small, thin, and dressed in shabby破旧的/ˈʃæbi/ clothes. He was gentle and soft-spoken说话轻柔的/ˌsɒft ˈspəʊkən/. But Abu Bakr, the first Islamic caliph, kept Islamic rule over Arabia strong. He ordered Muslim soldiers士兵/ˈsəʊldʒəz/ to attack and conquer any Bedouin贝都因人/ˈbeduɪn/ tribes who rebelled against Islamic laws.

This was only the beginning for the Islamic empire. The caliphs who came after Abu Bakr attacked the Byzantine Empire拜占庭帝国/ˈbɪzəntaɪn ˈempaɪə/ and took away some of its land. They spread Islam all the way up to the Caspian Sea里海/ˈkæspiən siː/. They conquered the land to the east of them, almost all the way over to India. And they took over North Africa北非/nɔːθ ˈæfrɪkə/.

The caliphs of the Islamic Empire built a new capital首都/ˈkæpɪtəl/ city on the banks of the Tigris River底格里斯河/ˈtaɪɡrɪs ˈrɪvə/. The city was round, with three walls surrounding it. The caliphs called it Baghdad巴格达/ˈbæɡdæd/. Mecca was still the holy city of Islam. But Baghdad, the Round City, became the center of the empire.

The city of Baghdad was known for its beautiful buildings, its running water, its public libraries图书馆/ˈlaɪbrəriz/, and its thinkers思想家/ˈθɪŋkəz/. Philosophers哲学家/fɪˈlɒsəfəz/, scientists科学家/ˈsaɪəntɪsts/, astronomers天文学家/əˈstrɒnəməz/, and writers came to Baghdad to study, to learn, and to write books.

One of the most famous Islamic books, The Thousand and One Nights一千零一夜/ðə ˈθaʊzənd ænd wʌn naɪts/, takes place in the palace of the caliph in Baghdad. In the book, sailors水手/ˈseɪləz/, soldiers, and explorers探险家/ɪkˈsplɔːrəz/ tell the caliph all about their adventures冒险/ədˈventʃəz/. One of the sailors is named Sinbad辛巴达/ˈsɪnbæd/.

In Sinbad's story, he tells of his journey旅程/ˈdʒɜːni/ to a mysterious island. He discovered that what seemed like an island was actually a giant fish鱼/fɪʃ/ that had been sleeping in the sea for so long that sand and trees had grown on its back! When the sailors built fires, the fish woke up and dove back into the deep sea, leaving Sinbad stranded被困/ˈstrændɪd/.

Later in his adventures, Sinbad found himself in the Valley of Snakes蛇谷/ˈvæli əv sneɪks/, a place filled with enormous serpents蛇/ˈsɜːpənts/ and precious diamonds钻石/ˈdaɪəməndz/. The local people had a clever way of getting the diamonds: they would throw pieces of meat into the valley, and eagles鹰/ˈiːɡəlz/ would carry the meat (with diamonds stuck to it) back up to the clifftops.