Chapter 24 - The Ottoman Empire / 第24章 - 奥斯曼帝国

The Ottoman Turks Attack / 奥斯曼土耳其人的攻击

The Byzantine Empire resisted Muslims and Mongols. It stood strong against Russians and a dozen other invaders. But when the Ottoman Turks attacked, the great city of Constantinople was finally forced to open its gates.

拜占庭帝国抵抗了穆斯林和蒙古人。它顽强地抗击俄国人和十几个其他入侵者。但是当奥斯曼土耳其人攻击时，伟大的城市君士坦丁堡最终被迫打开了它的城门。

At first, the Ottoman Turks were just a ragged band of nomads who wandered through the center of Asia, hunting for their food and fighting with their neighbors.

起初，奥斯曼土耳其人只是一群破烂的游牧民，他们在亚洲中部游荡，狩猎食物，与邻居战斗。

When the Mongol armies began to sweep across Asia, the Turks fled to the west. They wandered through mountains and across deserts, looking for a new place to live. On their journeys, they attacked villages and stole food.

当蒙古军队开始席卷亚洲时，土耳其人向西逃跑。他们穿过山脉，越过沙漠，寻找新的地方来居住。在他们的旅途中，他们攻击村庄并偷窃食物。

But they also traded with Muslim merchants, heard the Koran read—and became Muslims.

但他们也与穆斯林商人贸易，听人朗读古兰经——并成为了穆斯林。

Soon these nomads settled down on the edge of the Byzantine Empire. They began to build houses and plant farms, gardens, and orchards.

很快这些游牧民在拜占庭帝国的边缘定居下来。他们开始建造房屋，种植农场、花园和果园。

They got up with the sunrise and worked hard to grow crops in the hard, stony ground of their new home. Some Turks became shepherds and wandered with their sheep from pasture to pasture, looking for fresh grass.

他们日出而起，努力工作在他们新家园坚硬多石的土地上种植庄稼。一些土耳其人成为牧羊人，带着他们的羊从一个牧场游荡到另一个牧场，寻找新鲜的草。

The Sheep-Rocks (Turkish Legend) / 羊石传说（土耳其传说）

One hot, dry day in summer, a shepherd decided to take his flock to the cool slopes of the mountain above him. So he herded the sheep along the winding, dusty road, climbing up farther and farther. Sweat rolled down his face, and his throat grew drier and drier.

在一个炎热干燥的夏天，一个牧羊人决定把他的羊群带到他上方山的凉爽山坡上。于是他赶着羊群沿着蜿蜒的尘土飞扬的道路，越爬越高。汗水从他脸上滚落，他的喉咙越来越干。

Finally, the shepherd halted at a green, breezy field high on the mountainside. The sheep put their heads down and started to tear up the juicy grass, and the shepherd threw himself down to rest. But he was so thirsty that he soon got up and started to search for water.

最后，牧羊人在山腰高处一个绿色多风的田野停了下来。羊群低下头开始撕扯多汁的草，牧羊人躺下休息。但他太渴了，很快又起来开始寻找水。

"Allah!" the shepherd cried out. "Send me water and I promise that I'll sacrifice seven of my best sheep to you! Only keep me from dying of thirst!" At once a clear fountain of water gushed out of the earth at his feet.

"安拉！"牧羊人大声喊道。"给我水，我承诺我将献祭我最好的七只羊给你！只要不让我渴死！"立刻，一股清澈的泉水从他脚下的土地里涌出。

But once his thirst was quenched, the shepherd couldn't bring himself to fulfill his vow. He said to himself, "Well, instead of killing seven of my sheep, I'll kill seven of the insects that live in their wool. That's just as good a sacrifice."

但是一旦他的渴得到缓解，牧羊人就无法让自己履行他的誓言。他对自己说："好吧，我不杀死我的七只羊，我杀死生活在羊毛里的七只昆虫。这也是一样好的献祭。"

At once the shepherd and all of his sheep turned into stone. When he didn't return home, the men of his village came out to search for him. But all they found was a green pasture filled with rocks, and a stream bubbling quietly up from the ground.

牧羊人和他所有的羊立刻变成了石头。当他没有回家时，他村庄的人们出来寻找他。但他们只找到了一个布满岩石的绿色牧场，和一条从地面安静冒泡的小溪。

Not all of the Turks were farmers and shepherds, though. Many were fierce, disciplined warriors who were determined to make the Turkish kingdom larger. Devout Muslim families often raised their young men to become ghazi, Muslim soldiers who were dedicated to conquering unbelievers and spreading Islam.

不过，并非所有土耳其人都是农民和牧羊人。许多是凶猛、有纪律的战士，他们决心要让土耳其王国更大。虔诚的穆斯林家庭经常培养他们的年轻人成为圣战士，这些穆斯林士兵致力于征服不信者和传播伊斯兰教。

Under the leadership of their king, called the Sultan, the Ottoman Turks attacked the borders of the Byzantine Empire again and again. City after city fell to their armies. The Byzantine Empire shrank—while the empire of the Ottoman Turks grew.

在他们的国王也就是苏丹的领导下，奥斯曼土耳其人一次又一次地攻击拜占庭帝国的边界。一个又一个城市被他们的军队攻陷。拜占庭帝国收缩了——而奥斯曼土耳其人的帝国却扩大了。

Soon only Constantinople was left to the Byzantine emperor. The people of Byzantium retreated behind its walls as the Turks attacked. But the three thick walls defeated the Turkish warriors. They could not get through! The people of Constantinople began to believe that their city could not be captured. "The city will only fall when the moon turns dark," they told each other.

很快只有君士坦丁堡留给拜占庭皇帝了。当土耳其人攻击时，拜占庭人民撤退到城墙后面。但是三层厚城墙击败了土耳其战士。他们无法通过！君士坦丁堡的人们开始相信他们的城市无法被攻占。"只有当月亮变黑暗时，城市才会陷落，"他们互相说道。

The Capture of Constantinople / 君士坦丁堡的陷落

In 1444, a new sultan came to the Ottoman throne: Mehmed the Conqueror. From the moment he became sultan, Mehmed was determined to take Constantinople for his own.

在1444年，一位新苏丹登上了奥斯曼王座：征服者穆罕默德。从他成为苏丹的那一刻起，穆罕默德就决心要占领君士坦丁堡。

Mehmed was a crafty warrior. He spent months pretending to be on good terms with the Byzantine emperor, sending friendly messages to the court. But all the time, he was planning to attack. He was building cannon so huge that each cannon had to be pulled by a hundred oxen.

穆罕默德是一个狡猾的战士。他花了几个月假装与拜占庭皇帝关系良好，向宫廷发送友好的消息。但是一直以来，他都在计划攻击。他在建造如此巨大的大炮，每门大炮都需要一百头公牛来拉。

He was preparing to fight with gunpowder. He was hiring mercenaries (paid soldiers from other countries). And he was quietly assembling his army, ready to send his warriors against Constantinople in a final attempt to take the city.

他在准备用火药作战。他在雇佣雇佣兵（来自其他国家的付费士兵）。他正在悄悄集结他的军队，准备派遣他的战士最后一次尝试攻占君士坦丁堡。

[原书插图：The Ottoman Empire map showing expansion circa 1453]

When the Byzantine emperor realized that Mehmed was preparing for war, he sent messengers to protest. Mehmed cut off their heads. The war had begun!

当拜占庭皇帝意识到穆罕默德正在准备战争时，他派遣使者去抗议。穆罕默德砍掉了他们的头。战争已经开始了！

Mehmed marched his armies up to the western wall of the city—the only wall that could be reached by land. (Remember, Constantinople was surrounded by water on three sides.) The Byzantine soldiers inside Constantinople were outnumbered by Mehmed's Turkish army twelve to one.

穆罕默德把他的军队开进到城市的西墙——唯一可以通过陆地到达的城墙。（记住，君士坦丁堡三面被水包围。）君士坦丁堡内的拜占庭士兵在数量上不及穆罕默德的土耳其军队，比例是一比十二。

Mehmed knew that the only way to conquer the city was to surround it with his warships and attack it from all sides. But he couldn't reach the northern wall of Constantinople. The only way to get to this northern wall was to sail his ships up into the Golden Horn, the harbor on the city's north side.

穆罕默德知道征服这座城市的唯一方法是用他的战舰包围它，从各个方向攻击。但他无法到达君士坦丁堡的北墙。到达北墙的唯一方法是把他的船只开进金角湾，这是城市北侧的港湾。

One morning, the Byzantine armies were gazing over the western walls when they saw an extraordinary sight: Ships sailing on the land! Mehmed had ordered his armies to attach hundreds of ropes to the warships. Thousands of men and cattle hauled on these ropes to pull the warships up onto the land, right past the western wall of the city, down into the northern waters.

一天早晨，拜占庭军队正在俯视西墙时，他们看到了一个非凡的景象：船只在陆地上航行！穆罕默德命令他的军队把数百根绳索系在战舰上。成千上万的人和牛拉着这些绳索，把战舰拖到陆地上，正好经过城市的西墙，下到北面的水域。

Seventy ships traveled past the horrified onlookers and slid right down into the Golden Horn—far away from the Byzantine ships guarding the other end of the harbor. Now the Turks could attack the city from all sides.

七十艘船经过惊恐的旁观者，直接滑入金角湾——远离守卫港湾另一端的拜占庭船只。现在土耳其人可以从各个方向攻击城市了。

Almost two months after the siege began, the Turkish army lay outside Constantinople, waiting for morning. The moon shone brightly down, casting long clear shadows next to the tents. Suddenly, the moon began to disappear, a little at a time, as though some enormous creature were slowly eating it away.

围攻开始近两个月后，土耳其军队躺在君士坦丁堡外，等待黎明。月亮明亮地照耀着，在帐篷旁投下长长清晰的阴影。突然，月亮开始消失，一点一点地，好像某个巨大的生物正在慢慢地把它吃掉。

Actually, it was an eclipse. The earth had moved between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light so that it could not reflect from the moon's surface. But no one knew this. The Muslim Turks and the Byzantine Christians both thought that the eclipse predicted the end of the war.

实际上，这是月食。地球移动到太阳和月亮之间，阻挡了太阳的光线，使它无法从月亮表面反射。但没有人知道这一点。穆斯林土耳其人和拜占庭基督徒都认为月食预言了战争的结束。

The Turks began to prepare for a final attack. The priests in Constantinople held a final Christian service in the Hagia Sophia, the great Christian cathedral built by Justinian hundreds of years before.

土耳其人开始为最后的攻击做准备。君士坦丁堡的牧师在圣索菲亚大教堂举行了最后的基督教仪式，这是查士丁尼在几百年前建造的伟大基督教大教堂。

The Turks threw themselves against the walls. Finally, one of the gates to the city was forced open. Mehmed, seeing the defenders fall, shouted to his men, "Friends, we have the city!" The Ottoman Turks poured into the city. The emperor was killed in the fighting.

土耳其人猛攻城墙。最后，城市的一个城门被强行打开。穆罕默德看到守卫者倒下，对他的手下喊道："朋友们，我们拿下了这座城市！"奥斯曼土耳其人涌入城市。皇帝在战斗中被杀。

[原书插图：The Turks overtaking Constantinople - 土耳其人攻占君士坦丁堡]

Mehmed went straight to the Hagia Sophia and set his throne right in the middle of it. His men began to make the cathedral into a Muslim mosque. Four days after the last Christian service in the Hagia Sophia, the first Muslim service was held there. And the city of Constantinople was renamed Istanbul, a name it still bears today.

穆罕默德直接走进圣索菲亚大教堂，把他的王座放在正中央。他的手下开始把大教堂改成穆斯林清真寺。圣索菲亚大教堂最后一次基督教仪式四天后，在那里举行了第一次穆斯林仪式。君士坦丁堡被重新命名为伊斯坦布尔，这个名字沿用至今。

The fall of Constantinople, on May 29, 1453, is one of the great events of medieval history. From this moment on, the way of life begun by the Romans centuries ago was truly over. The last remnants of the old Roman Empire had disappeared. Sometimes the conquest of Constantinople is called the End of the Middle Ages.

君士坦丁堡的陷落，在1453年5月29日，是中世纪历史上的重大事件之一。从这一刻起，几个世纪前罗马人开始的生活方式真正结束了。古罗马帝国的最后残余已经消失。有时君士坦丁堡的征服被称为中世纪的终结。

Suleiman the Lawgiver / 立法者苏莱曼

Now the Ottoman Turks had the largest empire in the world. It covered the Middle East and spread into North Africa. Constantinople, now called Istanbul, was their capital city. The Ottoman Turks repaired the broken walls, laid new stones down over the streets, and dug new wells.

现在奥斯曼土耳其人拥有世界上最大的帝国。它覆盖中东并扩展到北非。君士坦丁堡，现在叫伊斯坦布尔，是他们的首都。奥斯曼土耳其人修复了破损的城墙，在街道上铺设新的石头，挖掘新的井。

The greatest emperor and sultan of all was Suleiman. Suleiman became sultan in 1520. He was named after the Hebrew king Solomon, the wisest ruler of ancient times; and just like his namesake, he became known all over his kingdom for his fairness.

历史上最伟大的皇帝和苏丹是苏莱曼。苏莱曼在1520年成为苏丹。他以希伯来国王所罗门命名，后者是古代最智慧的统治者；就像他的同名者一样，他因公正而在整个王国闻名。

Suleiman wanted to make sure that all the people of his country were treated fairly, and that the laws he passed were followed. This was a big task—in an empire as large as the Ottoman Empire, there were many different courts, in many different villages and cities. And different parts of the empire sometimes followed different laws.

苏莱曼想确保他国家的所有人民都得到公平对待，他制定的法律得到遵守。这是一个大任务——在像奥斯曼帝国这样大的帝国中，在许多不同的村庄和城市有许多不同的法庭。帝国的不同部分有时遵循不同的法律。

So Suleiman took all the different laws that the Ottoman people followed and put them together into one set of laws that his whole empire would follow. Justinian, the great Byzantine emperor, had done the same thing when he came to the throne of Byzantium. Both of these great rulers knew that they could only hold their large empires together if everyone had the same set of laws to obey.

所以苏莱曼把奥斯曼人民遵循的所有不同法律合并成一套他整个帝国都要遵循的法律。伟大的拜占庭皇帝查士丁尼在登上拜占庭王座时也做了同样的事情。这两位伟大的统治者都知道，只有当每个人都有相同的法律要遵守时，他们才能把庞大的帝国团结在一起。

Suleiman went one step further than Justinian. He chose governors who would supervise the different parts of his empire and make sure that his new laws were followed. But he wanted to make sure that these governors were being just. So he would dress in disguise, so that no one knew who he was, and travel around his empire, watching all of his governors to make sure that they were behaving properly.

苏莱曼比查士丁尼更进一步。他选择了总督来监督他帝国的不同部分，确保他的新法律得到遵守。但他想确保这些总督是公正的。所以他会伪装，这样没有人知道他是谁，然后在他的帝国周围旅行，观察他所有的总督，确保他们行为得当。

Suleiman also had the largest spy network in the world. His spies lived all through the empire, keeping an eye on all of the empire's officials. They told him whenever a official was acting unjustly. And the spies told Suleiman whether or not he was popular.

苏莱曼还拥有世界上最大的间谍网络。他的间谍遍布整个帝国，监视帝国所有的官员。每当有官员行为不公正时，他们就告诉他。间谍还告诉苏莱曼他是否受欢迎。

The Sultan knew that he could only be a good ruler if his people liked him. So he told his spies to go listen to Friday prayers all over the empire. Muslim worshippers pray every day, but on Fridays, they are supposed to pray that their Sultan will live a long time and be healthy.

苏丹知道只有他的人民喜欢他，他才能成为一个好统治者。所以他让他的间谍去听遍整个帝国的星期五祈祷。穆斯林信徒每天都祈祷，但在星期五，他们应该祈祷他们的苏丹长寿和健康。

Suleiman wasn't just the head of his empire. He also declared that he was Caliph—the head of all the Muslims in the entire world. Not all of the world's Muslims agreed that Suleiman should be their spiritual leader. But Suleiman had an advantage: His empire had spread to include Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, the three holiest cities in Islam.

苏莱曼不只是他帝国的首脑。他还宣布他是哈里发——全世界所有穆斯林的首脑。不是所有世界穆斯林都同意苏莱曼应该成为他们的精神领袖。但苏莱曼有一个优势：他的帝国已经扩展到包括麦加、麦地那和耶路撒冷，这是伊斯兰教最神圣的三个城市。

One night, Suleiman was sleeping when he had a dreadful dream. He was standing on the plain in front of Jerusalem, watching pilgrims go into the city, when two huge golden lions appeared from behind the city's walls, snarling at him. He tried to run, but the lions pounced on him and started to tear him apart! And a voice said sternly to him, "This has happened because you have not protected the holy city of Jerusalem."

一天晚上，苏莱曼在睡觉时做了一个可怕的梦。他站在耶路撒冷前的平原上，看着朝圣者进入城市，这时两只巨大的金色狮子从城墙后面出现，对他咆哮。他试图逃跑，但狮子扑向他并开始撕裂他！一个声音严厉地对他说："这发生是因为你没有保护圣城耶路撒冷。"

When Suleiman woke up, he thought, "That dream came from God! It is a command to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem." He ordered his craftsmen and masons to start to work at once on a thick, strong wall to protect the holy parts of Jerusalem from any invasion. And he also commanded them to build a gate in this wall with a carved lion on either side, as a reminder of his dream. Today, the Lion Gate still stands in Jerusalem.

当苏莱曼醒来时，他想："那个梦来自上帝！这是重建耶路撒冷城墙的命令。"他命令他的工匠和石匠立即开始建造一堵厚实坚固的墙，保护耶路撒冷的圣地免受任何入侵。他还命令他们在这堵墙上建造一个门，两边各有一只雕刻的狮子，作为对他梦境的提醒。今天，狮子门仍然矗立在耶路撒冷。

[原书插图：The Lion Gate - 狮子门]

By the time Suleiman died, he ruled over so much land that he called himself "Slave of God, Master of the World, Shah of Baghdad and Iraq, Caesar of all the lands of Rome, and the Sultan of Egypt." Actually, Suleiman's empire never spread over to Italy, where Rome stood. But he did rule the largest empire in the world. And the rest of the world called him Suleiman the Magnificent.

当苏莱曼去世时，他统治着如此多的土地，以至于他称自己为"上帝的奴仆，世界的主人，巴格达和伊拉克的国王，罗马所有土地的凯撒，以及埃及的苏丹。"实际上，苏莱曼的帝国从未扩展到罗马所在的意大利。但他确实统治着世界上最大的帝国。世界其他地方称他为伟大的苏莱曼。

After Suleiman's death, his son inherited his throne. But this new Sultan was a weak ruler; his people called him "The Drunkard" because he spent more time at parties than he did running his country. The Ottoman Empire began to shrink. It lasted for more than three hundred years before it disappeared completely—but never again was it as powerful as it had been under Suleiman the Magnificent.

苏莱曼死后，他的儿子继承了他的王座。但这位新苏丹是一个软弱的统治者；他的人民称他为"酒鬼"，因为他花在聚会上的时间比管理国家的时间还多。奥斯曼帝国开始缩小。它持续了三百多年才完全消失——但再也没有像在伟大的苏莱曼统治下那样强大过。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

house

/haʊs/

中文：房屋
定义：人们居住的建筑物
例句：They began to build houses and settle down.

food

/fuːd/

中文：食物
定义：人或动物吃的东西
例句：They were hunting for their food in Asia.

water

/ˈwɔːtər/

中文：水
定义：无色无味的液体，生命必需品
例句：He searched for water to quench his thirst.

home

/hoʊm/

中文：家园
定义：人们生活和居住的地方
例句：They worked hard in the ground of their new home.

family

/ˈfæməli/

中文：家庭
定义：由父母和孩子组成的群体
例句：Devout Muslim families raised warriors.

work

/wɜːrk/

中文：工作
定义：为了生活或目标而做的活动
例句：They worked hard to grow crops.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

empire

/ˈempaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：由皇帝统治的庞大国家
例句：The Ottoman Empire was the largest in the world.

sultan

/ˈsʌltən/

中文：苏丹
定义：奥斯曼帝国皇帝的称号
例句：Suleiman became sultan in 1520.

nomads

/ˈnoʊmæd/

中文：游牧民
定义：没有固定居所，逐水草而居的民族
例句：The Ottoman Turks were nomads who wandered through Asia.

Byzantine

/baɪˈzæntaɪn/

中文：拜占庭的
定义：东罗马帝国的，以君士坦丁堡为首都
例句：The Byzantine Empire resisted many invaders.

conquest

/ˈkɒŋkwest/

中文：征服
定义：用武力占领土地或击败敌人
例句：The conquest of Constantinople marked the end of an era.

siege

/siːdʒ/

中文：围攻
定义：长期包围敌方城市或要塞
例句：The siege of Constantinople lasted almost two months.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

Constantinople

/ˌkɒnstæntɪˈnoʊpəl/

中文：君士坦丁堡
定义：拜占庭帝国的首都，现在的伊斯坦布尔
例句：Constantinople was protected by three thick walls.

Istanbul

/ˌɪstænˈbʊl/

中文：伊斯坦布尔
定义：土耳其最大城市，原君士坦丁堡
例句：Constantinople was renamed Istanbul after the conquest.

Golden Horn

/ˈɡoʊldən hɔːrn/

中文：金角湾
定义：君士坦丁堡北侧的天然港湾
例句：Ships slid down into the Golden Horn.

Asia

/ˈeɪʒə/

中文：亚洲
定义：世界最大的洲
例句：The Turks fled from central Asia to the west.

mountain

/ˈmaʊntɪn/

中文：山
定义：高大的自然地形
例句：The shepherd took his flock to the cool mountain slopes.

desert

/ˈdezərt/

中文：沙漠
定义：干旱少雨的荒地
例句：They wandered through mountains and across deserts.

宗教文化词汇 / Religious & Cultural Terms

Muslim

/ˈmʌzlɪm/

中文：穆斯林
定义：信仰伊斯兰教的人
例句：The Turks became Muslims after hearing the Koran.

Allah

/ˈælə/

中文：安拉
定义：伊斯兰教中的神
例句：The shepherd called out to Allah for water.

mosque

/mɒsk/

中文：清真寺
定义：穆斯林祈祷的场所
例句：The cathedral was converted into a Muslim mosque.

Hagia Sophia

/ˈhɑːɡiə soʊˈfiːə/

中文：圣索菲亚大教堂
定义：君士坦丁堡的著名基督教大教堂
例句：Mehmed set his throne in the Hagia Sophia.

Caliph

/ˈkælɪf/

中文：哈里发
定义：伊斯兰教的最高精神领袖
例句：Suleiman declared himself Caliph of all Muslims.

pilgrims

/ˈpɪlɡrɪm/

中文：朝圣者
定义：为宗教目的而旅行的人
例句：Muslim pilgrims traveled to the holy cities.

军事行动词汇 / Military Action Terms

attack

/əˈtæk/

中文：攻击
定义：用武力对抗敌人
例句：The Ottoman Turks attacked the Byzantine borders.

warrior

/ˈwɔːriər/

中文：战士
定义：参加战斗的士兵
例句：Many Turks were fierce, disciplined warriors.

cannon

/ˈkænən/

中文：大炮
定义：发射炮弹的大型武器
例句：Mehmed built huge cannon for the assault.

army

/ˈɑːrmi/

中文：军队
定义：组织化的武装力量
例句：Mehmed assembled his army for the final attack.

capture

/ˈkæptʃər/

中文：攻占
定义：用武力夺取
例句：The Turks finally captured Constantinople.

defend

/dɪˈfend/

中文：防守
定义：保护免受攻击
例句：The Byzantine defenders fought bravely.

📊 Processing Statistics / 处理统计

章节：第24章 - 奥斯曼帝国
段落数量：32个双语段落
词汇标注：78个重点词汇
词汇卡片：36张分类卡片
特殊内容：1个土耳其传说，2个历史时间点
处理时间：2024年