注：英語原文取自最古老版本的帝國時代一的幫助文件中，關于歷史的文本量相當巨大，但在win7系統(tǒng)更新后，以win95為基礎的hlp文件被淘汰，如今已經(jīng)很難找到打開hlp文件的方法。如有大佬能提供支援就好了。

注：因為原h(huán)lp文件并未隨著羅馬復興資料片的更新而更新，所以這個系列不包含新增的羅馬、迦太基、馬其頓和巴爾米拉文明。

注：因為年代久遠（1996年左右），很多記述可能已經(jīng)與最新的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)有著顯著的差異。

注：蹩腳英語，翻譯腔，懶得潤色的語句。

注：英語原文放在前面，漢語翻譯放在后面。

更多資料：?世界地理歷史小常識37——敘利亞（CV5221230）

Assyrian culture (1800 to 600 BC)

Lord?

Byron began his poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib”with “The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold.”At the height of their power, the Assyrians were very much like a wolf among sheep, although their reputation is enhanced by several references to them in the Old Testament and by the extensive battle scenes that were found on their ruins. For a period, they rose to the challenge of being surrounded by enemies and became the most powerful military force in the known world. Their legendary barbarity and fierceness was a deliberate policy intended to foster the submission of enemies and minimize the threat of revolt by vassals.

Location

Assyria was located in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) along the Tigris River. It was settled after Sumer to the south but was dominated by the Sumerians both culturally and politically during its early history.

Capital

The capital of Assyria was Ashur for most of its existence, but moved to other sites when kings built new palaces. Other important cities and capitals in the Assyrian homeland were Nineveh, Arbela, Khorsabad, and Nimrud.

Rise to power

Around 2000 BC Assyria was invaded by Semitic barbarians called the Amorites. By 1800 BC an Amorite king of the Assyrians had established control over most of northern Mesopotamia. Their power was short-lived in this period, however, due first to the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi and then the rise of the Mitanni in modern Syria.The period 1363 to 1000 BC was the Middle Assyrian Empire. Several strong kings first reasserted Assyrian independence and then began encroaching on neighboring empires. The Assyrians avoided destruction during the catastrophe of 1200 BC, perhaps because they were already embracing the new military tactics and weapons that the older kingdoms were not. In the political vacuum of the ancient dark age, the Assyrians prospered. By 1076 BC Tiglathpileser I had reached the Mediterranean to the west.The New Assyrian Empire, 1000 to 600 BC, was the peak of their conquests. Their empire stretched from the head of the Persian Gulf, around the Fertile Crescent through Damascus, Phoenicia, Palestine, and into Egypt as far south as Thebes. Their northwestern border was the Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey. Other than the vestiges of what had once been the Minoan (Crete), Mycenean (Greece), and Hittite (Turkey) cultures, all areas of pre-catastrophe civilization in the West were ruled by Assyria.

Economy

The Assyrian economy was based on agriculture and herding, but the Assyrians also benefited by being situated astride some important trade routes. They are not remembered as traders in their own right, perhaps only as tax collectors on traders passing through. During the New Empire period, they profited from the taxes and tribute they collected from their various provinces and vassal states, including even Egypt for a few years.

Religion and culture

The Assyrian religion was heavily influenced by that of its Mesopotamian predecessors, mainly Sumeria. The chief god of the Assyrians was Ashur, from whom both their culture and capital take their names. Their temples were large ziggurats built of mud bricks, like their neighbors to the south.The principal activity of the rich was hunting from chariots, appropriate for such a war-like culture. Despite their fearsome reputation, the Assyrians embraced civilization. They wrote using cuneiform and decorated their cities liberally with reliefs, painted stonework, and sculpture.

Government

The king was the head administrator of government, supported by local provincial governors. The palace was the site of government. Advisors consulted the omens before important decisions were made.Provinces and vassal cities were required to pay taxes and tribute in the form of food, goods, gold, labor, military supplies, and soldiers for the army. An extensive network of roads and grain depots were built during the New Empire to speed communication and armies moving to trouble spots.

Architecture

The Assyrians built on a large and lavish scale, using mostly mud bricks, but also stone that was more readily available than it was farther south. Several New Empire kings built extensive palaces and decorated them with the booty of war and the tribute of vassal states. Palaces were also decorated with painted stone reliefs, extensive gardens, and man-made streams. A common decorative fixture was the lamassus' winged hybrid creature, part bull and part man.

Military

The first Assyrian armies were peasant spearmen. Following a series of military reforms around 800 BC, however, they employed a standing army of conscripts and professionals. This army was better armed, armored, and supplied than most of its enemies, giving it important advantages. The New Empire armies benefited from cheap iron used for improved swords and armor.The Assyrians were among the first to adopt the concept of the integrated army made up of an infantry core for shock, supported by light missile troops and a mobile wing of chariots, camelry, and cavalry. The army was capable of fighting on the plains where chariots and then cavalry were critical, as well as in rough terrain where horses and chariots had little use. They campaigned regularly to the north and east against barbarians that posed a threat. The elite of the army for many years were the charioteers, followed by the cavalry when chariots became obsolete.The Assyrians were accomplished at the art of capturing walled cities. Their historical records recount numerous city assaults and the brutality that followed. Cities that did not submit were often completely destroyed. Inhabitants were either killed or sent to another corner of the empire as slaves.

Decline and fall

The brutal policies of subjugation and exorbitant demands for tribute and taxes made the Assyrians unpopular masters. Despite the ferocity of their reprisals, vassal states continually revolted given an opportunity. Weaker kings were unable to hold the empire together in the face of internal and external pressure. In 612 BC the capital at Nineveh fell to a coalition of Babylonians and Medes. The Babylonians were in revolt (Babylon had been sacked in 648 BC) and the Medes (from modern western Iran) were seeking retribution for past Assyrian invasions of their lands.The last Assyrian army was defeated soon thereafter by the same coalition and the Assyrians as a separate culture disappeared from the world's stage.

Legacy

The Assyrians are remembered from their boastful inscriptions and biblical references as ferocious warriors. Whether they were significantly more brutal than was normal for the time is unclear.For several centuries, however, they were the greatest military power in the civilized world. Their armies were innovative, and they appear to have been among the first to use large bodies of cavalry effectively. They certainly influenced the Persian armies that followed them.They are not remembered for any significant advances in technology, philosophy, the arts, or science. Their cities have been piles of rubble for thousands of years now and have not given up fabulous treasures that can compare with those of Egypt and Greece.

亞述文明（公元前1800至公元前600年）

統(tǒng)治

拜倫用“亞述像一頭狼來到了羊圈一般。”作為他的史詩《塞納基里布的破壞》的開頭。從亞述的力量來看，亞述人的確像是羊群中的狼，盡管他們的聲譽在舊約中，以及他們自己的廢墟中大量描繪戰(zhàn)爭場面的作品中得到了印證。在一段時期內(nèi)，他們從被敵人包圍的挑戰(zhàn)中發(fā)展，轉(zhuǎn)而成為已知世界上最強大的軍事力量。他們傳說中的野蠻和殘忍是一種特殊的政策，來促使敵人傾向于投降，并且盡量減少附屬武裝的威脅。

位置

亞述位于美索不達米亞（現(xiàn)代的伊拉克）北部的底格里斯河畔。他們定居在南方的蘇美爾文明旁邊，但在早期歷史中卻被蘇美爾人從文化政治各個角度統(tǒng)治著

首都

亞述的首都長期位于阿舒爾，但在國王建造新宮殿時，就會遷都至其他地方，例如其他省會：尼尼微、阿爾貝拉、霍爾沙巴德和尼姆魯?shù)隆?/p>

發(fā)展到強盛

大約公元前2000年，亞述被閃族野蠻人阿摩利人入侵，到了公元前1800年，亞述的阿摩利人王國已經(jīng)控制了北美索不達米亞的大部分區(qū)域，但是在這個時期的政權(quán)多數(shù)短命，這首先是由于漢莫拉比的巴比倫王國的興起，其次是由于位于現(xiàn)代敘利亞的米坦尼王國的興起。公元前1363年到公元前1000年屬于中亞述帝國時期，許多強勢的國王首先重申亞述是獨立的，之后就開始入侵鄰國。亞述在公元前1200年的海民入侵災難中得以幸免，可能是因為他們已經(jīng)采取了新的軍事策略以及采用新式武器，而其他老王國并沒有。在這之后的古黑暗時期的權(quán)力真空之中，亞述繁榮昌盛。公元前1076年，提格拉斯皮勒瑟一世向西開疆拓土到達了地中海。公元前1000年至公元前600年屬于新亞述帝國時期，是他們征服活動的高峰。他們的帝國從波斯灣的頭部向西，通過大馬士革、腓尼基、巴勒斯坦周圍的肥沃的新月之地，一直進入埃及，遠達埃及的底比斯。他們的西北邊界是現(xiàn)代土耳其境內(nèi)的金牛山。除了曾經(jīng)是米諾斯（克里特）、邁錫尼（希臘）和赫梯（土耳其）文明的區(qū)域之外，所有的西方災前遠古文明區(qū)域都由亞述統(tǒng)治。

經(jīng)濟

亞述的經(jīng)濟以農(nóng)業(yè)和畜牧業(yè)為主，但是亞述也受益于過境的重要貿(mào)易路線。他們自己并不被當做貿(mào)易者被記住，也許是被當作貿(mào)易路線的收稅者記住的。在新帝國時期，他們從各個行省、城邦包括埃及的稅收和貢賦中獲利許多年。

宗教與文化

亞述的宗教深受美索不達米亞的前輩影響，例如蘇美爾。亞述人的主神是阿舒爾，他們的文明和首都的名字都由此而來。他們的寺廟是大型復雜曲折的泥磚制建筑，就像他們南方的鄰居一樣。富人的主要活動是在戰(zhàn)車上狩獵，非常貼切這樣的一個戰(zhàn)爭化的文明。亞述人有著可怕的名聲，但是他們保護文明，他們用楔形文字書寫，用浮雕、繪制石像和雕塑來裝飾他們的城市。

政府

國王是政府的最高管理者，受到各地省長的支持。宮殿即為政府的所在。顧問在重大決策前會詢問占卜。行省和附屬城邦被要求以食物、商品、金子、勞工、軍事支持以及士兵的形式支付稅款和貢賦，在新帝國時期，建立了廣泛的道路和糧倉系統(tǒng)，加快了消息傳播和軍隊的轉(zhuǎn)移。

建筑

亞述人使用泥磚來修建大型豪華建筑，主要是因為相對于遙遠的南方而言，石磚難以獲取。幾個新帝國國王建立的幾個宮殿，使用戰(zhàn)爭的戰(zhàn)利品和藩屬國的貢品來裝飾。宮殿由繪制石質(zhì)浮雕裝飾，許許多多的人造噴泉、花園也用于裝飾。還有一種常見的裝飾是拉瑪蘇斯——混合了翅膀的動物形象，一半是牛形，一半是人形。

軍事

第一批亞述軍隊是農(nóng)民矛兵，然而，經(jīng)過公元前800年左右的一系列軍事改革，他們雇傭了常役軍隊和專業(yè)軍人。這支軍隊更好地武裝過，穿著裝甲，這為他們提供了優(yōu)勢。新帝國軍隊受益于用來改進劍和盔甲的廉價的鐵。亞述人也率先使用輕型彈道武器和快速移動的兩翼戰(zhàn)車支援的步兵核心綜合軍隊概念，并引入了駱駝兵和騎兵。軍隊能夠在平原上戰(zhàn)斗，戰(zhàn)車和騎兵是至關重要的。在馬和戰(zhàn)車難以發(fā)揮優(yōu)勢的崎嶇地形，他們定期派遣軍隊來反制造成威脅的東部、北部野蠻人。多年來，軍隊的精英是戰(zhàn)車兵，后來則是由騎兵來取代了過時的戰(zhàn)車兵。亞述人完善了他們的的攻城技術(shù)，他們的歷史記錄了許多城市的淪陷和隨之而來的屠殺。沒有投降的城市往往被徹底摧毀，居民被屠殺或者被送到帝國的另一個角落作為奴隸。

衰落與滅亡

殘酷的政策、奴役、野蠻的要求以及貪婪的對稅收和貢賦的要求，使亞述人稱為不受歡迎的主人。盡管會遭到兇猛的報復，但是附庸國卻是持續(xù)地反抗，這給了他們機會。面對內(nèi)外壓力，較弱的國王無法將帝國統(tǒng)一起來。公元前648年，巴比倫已經(jīng)被解放，公元前612年，尼尼微作為首都淪陷到巴比倫和米底聯(lián)盟手中。巴比倫人起義，米底（現(xiàn)在的伊朗西部）正在尋求對亞述入侵他們土地的報復。最后的亞述軍隊隨后被這一聯(lián)盟打敗，而亞述人作為一個獨立的文明，消失在了世界舞臺上。

遺產(chǎn)

亞述人因為自夸的題詞和圣經(jīng)的記錄，被當做兇殘的戰(zhàn)士而記住，記憶中的他們是否比真實的他們更為殘忍還不清楚，但是幾個世紀以來，他們?nèi)允菤v史上最偉大的軍事力量。他們的軍隊總是創(chuàng)新的，他們似乎是第一個有效使用大型騎兵隊的人。他們很明顯的影響了后來的波斯軍隊。他們對技術(shù)、哲學、藝術(shù)或科學方面的成就已經(jīng)被忘記，他們的城市也在數(shù)千年里堆滿了瓦礫，只有這些瓦礫還守著可以與埃及和希臘相比的神話與寶藏。

這是帝國時代一相關文明說明文件翻譯的第（4/12）部：

1.埃及：CV13647116?

2.希臘：CV13828033

3.巴比倫：CV13907052

4.亞述：本篇

5.米諾斯：

6.赫梯：

7.腓尼基：

8.蘇美爾：

9.波斯：

10.商：

11.朝鮮：

12.大和：