Chapter Eleven / 第十一章
The Moghul Emperors of India / 印度的莫卧儿皇帝

The Manchu满族/ˈmæntʃu/ emperors皇帝们/ˈempərərz/ who ruled统治/ruːld/ China中国/ˈtʃaɪnə/ believed that they had conquered征服了/ˈkɒŋkərd/ the most important重要的/ɪmˈpɔːtənt/ country on earth地球/ɜːθ/. The battling kings国王们/kɪŋz/ of Europe who fought the Thirty Years' War believed that their kingdoms王国/ˈkɪŋdəmz/ were the center of all civilization文明/ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/. But the kings of India印度/ˈɪndiə/ knew that India was the center of the world世界/wɜːld/!

During the years that we've been reading about, three emperors ruled in India. The first was named World Seizer世界夺取者/wɜːld ˈsiːzər/. When World Seizer's son inherited继承/ɪnˈherɪtɪd/ his father's throne王位/θroʊn/, he named himself King of the World世界之王/kɪŋ ʌv ðə wɜːld/. And when King of the World's son became king, he gave himself the proudest name of all: Conqueror of the World世界征服者/ˈkɒŋkərər ʌv ðə wɜːld/.

The first emperor, World Seizer, was a descendant后代/dɪˈsendənt/ of the great Mongol蒙古/ˈmɒŋɡəl/ warrior战士/ˈwɔːriər/ Genghis Khan成吉思汗/ˈdʒeŋɡɪs kɑːn/. Many years before, one of Genghis Khan's relatives亲戚/ˈrelətɪvz/, a prince王子/prɪns/ named Babur巴布尔/ˈbɑːbər/, had wandered流浪/ˈwɑːndərd/ south, down into India. Here, he found a number of different little Indian kingdoms, each governed统治/ˈɡʌvərnd/ by a nobleman贵族/ˈnoʊbəlmən/. Babur conquered these little kingdoms and united统一/juˈnaɪtɪd/ them all together into one Indian empire帝国/ˈempaɪər/.

For many years, India was ruled by Babur's sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and great-great-greatgreat grandsons. This family家族/ˈfæməli/ of kings was called the Moghul dynasty莫卧儿王朝/ˈmoʊɡəl ˈdaɪnəsti/ because its kings were descended from the Mongols蒙古人/ˈmɒŋɡəlz/. World Seizer, whose Indian name was Jahangir贾汉吉尔/dʒəˈhɑːnɡɪr/, was just as ruthless无情的/ˈruːθləs/ as his great ancestor祖先/ˈænsestər/ Genghis Khan.

When he suspected怀疑/səˈspektɪd/ that his father's best friend was plotting密谋/ˈplɑːtɪŋ/ against him, he ordered the man murdered谋杀/ˈmɜːrdərd/. Every Tuesday, he held court朝廷/kɔːrt/ at his palace宫殿/ˈpæləs/ and sentenced判决/ˈsentənst/ anyone who had broken his laws to be crushed压死/krʌʃt/ by elephants大象/ˈeləfənts/ or beheaded砍头/bɪˈhedɪd/. And he put the heads of the condemned被定罪的/kənˈdemd/ on special towers塔楼/ˈtaʊərz/ along the main roads of his empire as a warning警告/ˈwɔːrnɪŋ/ to others.

But although Jahangir was cruel残酷的/kruːəl/, he was also a clever聪明的/ˈklevər/ and thoughtful深思熟虑的/ˈθɔːtfəl/ king. He knew that India would grow richer更富有/ˈrɪtʃər/ if it could encourage鼓励/ɪnˈkɜːrɪdʒ/ more and more English traders商人/ˈtreɪdərz/ to sail to its ports港口/pɔːrts/ and trade for silks丝绸/sɪlks/ and spices香料/ˈspaɪsəz/. So he signed a trade treaty贸易条约/treɪd ˈtriːti/ with James I, the king of England, allowing Englishmen to enter all Indian ports in safety安全/ˈseɪfti/.

And Jahangir was the first Indian emperor to invite an English ambassador大使/æmˈbæsədər/ (a special state official官员/əˈfɪʃəl/, sent by one country to another in order to help the two countries be friends) to India. The English ambassador was amazed惊讶的/əˈmeɪzd/ by the riches财富/ˈrɪtʃəz/ in Jahangir's court. He wrote back to James I, describing the gold黄金/ɡoʊld/, jewels珠宝/ˈdʒuːəlz/, silver银/ˈsɪlvər/, and exquisite精美的/ɪkˈskwɪzət/ paintings绘画/ˈpeɪntɪŋz/ found in the palace.

He described in amazement the enormous celebration庆祝/ˌseləˈbreɪʃən/ held on the birthday生日/ˈbɜːrθdeɪ/ of Khurram库拉姆/ˈkʊræm/, the emperor's favorite son. On this day, Khurram was dressed in gold and jewels and was seated on one side of an enormous pair of golden scales天平/skeɪlz/. Courtiers朝臣/ˈkɔːrtiərz/ heaped bags of gold, jewels, spices, corn谷物/kɔːrn/, and butter黄油/ˈbʌtər/ on the other side of the scales, until they had measured测量/ˈmeʒərd/ out the weight of the prince in goods. Then the goods were all given away to the poor穷人/pʊr/!

When Jahangir died, Khurram became emperor. As emperor, he was given a new name; just as his father Jahangir had been known as World Seizer, Khurram would now be called Shah Jahan沙贾汉/ʃɑː dʒəˈhɑːn/, or King of the World. As soon as Shah Jahan became king, he made sure that everyone knew he was just as powerful强大的/ˈpaʊərfəl/ as his father. He ordered all rivals竞争对手/ˈraɪvəlz/ to the throne—including his own brothers兄弟/ˈbrʌðərz/—put to death.

When he learned that some of the towns城镇/taʊnz/ at the far edges of India were preparing to rebel反叛/rɪˈbel/ against his rule, he set off himself to fight against the rebels. He spent years strengthening his control控制/kənˈtroʊl/ over India. This King of the World didn't reign统治/reɪn/ alone. His wife, Mumtaz Mahal穆塔兹·玛哈尔/mʊmˈtɑːz məˈhɑːl/, had already borne him thirteen children孩子/ˈtʃɪldrən/. Now, she traveled with him everywhere, helped him govern his kingdom, and worked with him to plan out his military campaigns军事战役/ˈmɪlɪteri kæmˈpeɪnz/.

She kept his seal印章/siːl/—the sign of his authority权威/əˈθɔːrəti/—and every decree法令/dɪˈkriː/ that he made went to her to be approved批准/əˈpruːvd/. But only three years after Shah Jahan became king, tragedy悲剧/ˈtrædʒədi/ struck him! He was traveling to a battle战斗/ˈbætəl/ with Mumtaz and his army when Mumtaz grew ill and died. Shah Jahan's hair turned white from grief悲伤/ɡriːf/. He cried so much that he ruined his eyesight视力/ˈaɪsaɪt/ and had to wear glasses眼镜/ˈɡlæsəz/ for the rest of his life.

He spent two years mourning哀悼/ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ his wife; during this time, he refused to hear any music音乐/ˈmjuːzɪk/, wear beautiful clothes, or eat any rich food. When the two years was over, Shah Jahan decided to build Mumtaz Mahal a tomb陵墓/tuːm/, or mausoleum陵墓/ˌmɔːsəˈliːəm/, that would show the whole world how much he loved her. Shah Jahan quarried the finest transparent marble大理石/ˈmɑːrbəl/ and the reddest sandstone砂岩/ˈsændstoʊn/ for this tomb.

He gathered precious stones宝石/ˈpreʃəs stoʊnz/ for its walls—shining green jade翡翠/dʒeɪd/, sparkling diamonds钻石/ˈdaɪməndz/, sky-blue turquoise绿松石/ˈtɜːrkwɔɪz/. He chose a beautiful spot on the banks of the Yamuna River亚穆纳河/jæˈmuːnə ˈrɪvər/, where the tomb would overlook the clear running waters. Twenty thousand craftsmen工匠/ˈkræftsmən/ labored over the building for over twenty years! They built a huge marble dome圆顶/doʊm/, surrounded by smaller domes, on a red sandstone foundation地基/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/.

A huge garden花园/ˈɡɑːrdən/ in front of the tomb was planted with tulips郁金香/ˈtuːlɪps/ and daffodils水仙花/ˈdæfədɪlz/. A red mosque清真寺/mɑːsk/ was built on either side of the mausoleum, so that the Muslims穆斯林/ˈmʊzləmz/ of India could worship崇拜/ˈwɜːrʃɪp/ there. All of the buildings were covered with intricate复杂的/ˈɪntrəkət/ carvings雕刻/ˈkɑːrvɪŋz/ of vines, fruit, leaves, and flowing lines of Arabic writing阿拉伯文字/ˈærəbɪk ˈraɪtɪŋ/ from the Muslim holy book, the Koran古兰经/kɔːˈrɑːn/.

The flowers and vines were inlaid镶嵌/ɪnˈleɪd/ with jewels—sometimes as many as fifty jewels in a single flower! Shah Jahan had built the most beautiful building in India. This mausoleum, the Taj Mahal泰姬陵/tɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl/, became known as the eighth wonder奇迹/ˈwʌndər/ of the world. While Shah Jahan supervised his building projects建筑项目/ˈbɪldɪŋ ˈprɑːdʒekts/, he left much of the actual work of ruling the kingdom to his four sons. Each son was a general将军/ˈdʒenərəl/ in Shah Jahan's army and ruled over one fourth of the empire.

Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb奥朗则布/ˈɔːrənˌzeb/ was one of his best generals and rulers, and Shah Jahan sent him out over and over again to fight for his father's empire. But although Aurangzeb conquered cities and led his father's army to victory胜利/ˈvɪktəri/, Shah Jahan didn't reward奖励/rɪˈwɔːrd/ him. Instead, he criticized批评/ˈkrɪtəˌsaɪzd/ Aurangzeb and reduced his rank等级/ræŋk/! Meanwhile, Shah Jahan's favorite son, Dara达拉/ˈdɑːrə/, lounged around the court—and grew more and more popular with his father.

When Shah Jahan announced that Dara would be his heir继承人/er/, Aurangzeb rebelled. He collected his army together, marched into his father's capital city, and defeated Dara's soldiers. Dara ran away! And Shah Jahan himself had to surrender投降/səˈrendər/ to his son. Aurangzeb ordered his father imprisoned监禁/ɪmˈprɪzənd/ inside his own fortress要塞/ˈfɔːrtrəs/. He made sure that the old emperor had food, water, servants, and doctors—but he never allowed Shah Jahan to leave the fortress again.

After Shah Jahan wrote him letters complaining抱怨/kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/ about his treatment, Aurangzeb even ordered that all of Shah Jahan's paper and pens be taken away! Now Aurangzeb was the ruler of India. He gave himself the title Conqueror of the World世界征服者/ˈkɑːŋkərər ʌv ðə wɜːld/. He kept Shah Jahan imprisoned until the old man died. Shah Jahan was buried埋葬/ˈberiːd/ next to Mumtaz Mahal in the Taj Mahal, and Aurangzeb, Conqueror of the World, was the undisputed无争议的/ˌʌndɪˈspjuːtəd/ emperor of all India.

The Moghul emperor莫卧儿皇帝/ˈmoʊɡəl ˈempərər/ Aurangzeb, Conqueror of the World, was now the ruler of India. Like his father, King of the World, and his grandfather, World Seizer, he was determined to be a strong and powerful ruler. And he succeeded. He ruled over a strong and powerful India for almost fifty years. But when Aurangzeb died, fifty years later, India was doomed注定失败/duːmd/. Three of Aurangzeb's own decisions helped to pave the way for foreign invaders侵略者/ɪnˈveɪdərz/ who would take away India's independence独立/ˌɪndɪˈpendəns/.

Aurangzeb's first decision had to do with religion宗教/rɪˈlɪdʒən/. Aurangzeb, like all the Moghul emperors, was a Muslim穆斯林/ˈmʊzləm/—a follower of the teachings of Muhammad穆罕默德/moʊˈhæmɪd/. But most of the people of India were Hindu印度教徒/ˈhɪnduː/. For many years, the Moghul emperors allowed their Hindu subjects臣民/ˈsʌbdʒɪkts/ to worship崇拜/ˈwɜːrʃɪp/ in their own way. The emperor Akbar阿克巴/ˈækbər/, one of the greatest Moghul rulers of all (and Aurangzeb's great-grandfather), had even appointed a Hindu advisor顾问/ædˈvaɪzər/ to be his Minister of State国务大臣/ˈmɪnɪstər ʌv steɪt/.

But Aurangzeb was different. He wanted India to become a Muslim country, and he believed that his duty as emperor was to spread the Muslim faith. After long hours of reading the Koran and discussing its teachings with the Muslim theologians神学家/θiːəˈloʊdʒənz/ who came to his court, Aurangzeb decided that the law of the Muslim faith, called Shari'ah伊斯兰教法/ʃəˈriːə/, should also be the law for all of India. And he also decided that only Muslims should have power in India. So he refused to give Hindus positions at court and only promoted Muslims.

He forced all Indian Hindus to pay extra taxes税收/ˈtæksəz/. When new Hindu temples寺庙/ˈtempəlz/ were built, Aurangzeb had them destroyed. Because the Koran forbids Muslims to drink wine, the emperor made wine illegal非法的/ɪˈliːɡəl/ throughout all of India. And because he believed that the Koran banned all kinds of art and parties, he put an end to all music at his court and made festivals节日/ˈfestəvəlz/ illegal. Muslim Indians welcomed Aurangzeb's laws. But Hindu Indians hated the emperor! Aurangzeb's decrees meant that Muslims and Hindus in India began to quarrel争吵/ˈkwɔːrəl/ with each other.

And when Aurangzeb made his second decision, the hostility敌意/hɑːˈstɪləti/ between Hindus and Muslims in India grew even stronger. Aurangzeb's second decision was to spend years and years trying to conquer the southern parts of India. During the reigns of his father and grandfather, the Indian army had conquered the northern parts of India all the way up to the high mountains dividing India from Asia. And because India is a peninsula半岛/pəˈnɪnsələ/, Aurangzeb couldn't expand his empire to the east or the west. But he was still determined to make India larger, so he turned his army south.

The southern lands of India, called the Deccan德干高原/ˈdekən/, were covered with jagged hills, rough country, and thick brush. The kingdoms in the Deccan were not yet under Aurangzeb's control. And although most of the Deccan leaders were Muslim, they didn't want to come under the rule of the Moghul emperor. So the kingdoms of the Deccan made alliances联盟/əˈlaɪənsəz/ with Hindu tribes who lived in the southwest parts of India. These Hindu tribes, called the Marathas马拉塔人/məˈrɑːtəz/, resented the way that Aurangzeb treated the Hindu people who lived under his reign. They were happy to help the people of the Deccan fight Aurangzeb!

After years of fighting, Aurangzeb managed to add the kingdoms of the Deccan to his empire. But the Deccan was never loyal忠诚的/ˈlɔɪəl/ to Aurangzeb's rule. The people continued to mount little rebellions叛乱/rɪˈbeliənz/ against him. And the Marathas kept right on sending little bands of guerrilla warriors游击战士/ɡəˈrɪlə ˈwɔːriərz/ (soldiers who fight in sneak attacks and from under cover, rather than in an organized army) to harass骚扰/həˈræs/ the Moghul officials and soldiers. Aurangzeb spent twenty-six years in the Deccan, fighting off Hindu guerrilla warriors and trying to keep the cities of the Deccan peaceful!

Meanwhile, he ignored the rest of his empire. He didn't visit his capital city, Delhi德里/ˈdeli/, for a quarter of a century! Aurangzeb had decided to treat Muslims better than Hindus—and made enemies of part of his empire. He had decided to conquer the south of India—and ignored the rest of his kingdom. And then he made a third decision that would change India forever. While he was busy fighting against the kingdoms of the Deccan, he allowed Englishmen to come into India and build cities of their own.

Remember, Aurangzeb's grandfather Jahangir (World Seizer) had signed a trade treaty with England. This treaty allowed English merchants商人/ˈmɜːrtʃənts/ to build trading posts贸易站/ˈtreɪdɪŋ poʊsts/ (ports where English ships could land and load up with Indian goods) all through India. Now, the English wanted to build a new trading post on the eastern shore of India, in an area called Bengal孟加拉/benˈɡɔːl/. They asked Aurangzeb for permission to build not only a place for ships to dock, but also a city and a factory工厂/ˈfæktəri/ at this new port. Aurangzeb agreed. After all, he was busy down in the south of India, and this new English city would only make India richer.

So the English began to build their city, which soon became known as Calcutta加尔各答/kælˈkʌtə/. They built a factory to make silk that they could then take to London and sell. More and more English men and women came to live in Calcutta. The city began to look more like an English colony殖民地/ˈkɑːləni/ than like an Indian city. Soldiers士兵/ˈsoʊldʒərz/ came to Calcutta to protect the English ships. The factories in Calcutta made gunpowder火药/ˈɡʌnpaʊdər/ for the soldiers' weapons武器/ˈwepənz/.

Aurangzeb didn't know it, but Calcutta would become the center of an English takeover of India—a takeover that would bring an end to Indian independence. This takeover did not begin until after Aurangzeb's death. But at the end of his life, Aurangzeb began to realize that his attempts to make India into an enormous, rich, Muslim empire had actually made India weaker. Just before his death, Aurangzeb was still down in the Deccan, putting down rebellion after rebellion. He had lost a fifth of his army in the war against the Deccan. His men were suffering from plague瘟疫/pleɪɡ/. He was under constant attack from Maratha guerillas. He was nearly ninety years old, weary and sick.

Back in the north of India, the administrators管理者/ədˈmɪnəˌstreɪtərz/ who were supposed to be running the country in Aurangzeb's absence were spending money freely, neglecting忽视/nɪˈɡlektɪŋ/ the people, and allowing crime犯罪/kraɪm/ to flourish. Old, tired, and dying, Aurangzeb wrote to one of his sons, "I do not know who I am. I do not know what I have been doing. I have sinned, and yet I do not know what punishment惩罚/ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/ awaits me." Aurangzeb's attempt to make India great had failed; he died knowing that India's end was coming.