正文翻譯

Why does Persia seem like the constant loser of the Classical period? They lost to the Greeks, the Macedonians, and the Romans.

為什么波斯在古代一直當(dāng)失敗者？他們輸給了希臘人，馬其頓人和羅馬人。

評(píng)論翻譯

Spencer McDaniel
B.A. Classical Studies & History, Indiana University Bloomington (2022)
You are kidding, right? The Persians were not the “constant loser of the Classical Period.” If anything, they were near-constant winners. The only reason why we hear so much about their defeats is because of how rare and astonishing such defeats were. The Persians were so powerful that, whenever someone actually beat them, they always made sure to make a big deal about it.

你在開(kāi)玩笑嗎？說(shuō)波斯人在古代是經(jīng)常性的輸家，這當(dāng)然是錯(cuò)的。就算他們被擊敗過(guò)，他們大多數(shù)時(shí)候也是贏(yíng)家。我們之所以如此多地聽(tīng)到他們的失敗，是因?yàn)閷?duì)于波斯來(lái)說(shuō)，失敗是非常罕見(jiàn)和令人驚訝的。波斯人非常強(qiáng)大，以至于每當(dāng)有人真正擊敗他們時(shí)，勝利者總是會(huì)對(duì)此大做文章。

ABOVE: Map from Wikimedia Commons depicting the expansion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I

上圖：維基公共地圖描繪了在居魯士大帝、岡比西斯二世和大流士一世統(tǒng)治下波斯阿契美尼德王朝的擴(kuò)張。
(上圖中，綠色為居魯士大帝時(shí)期，藍(lán)色為肛門(mén)二世的擴(kuò)張，紅色為大流士一世的繼續(xù)擴(kuò)張。）

During that invasion, the Persians sacked and burned the already-evacuated city of Athens itself before the Athenians finally defeated them in the Battle of Salamis. Even after the Greeks drove the Persians out of Europe, the Persians still remained the dominant imperial power and still continued to meddle in Greek affairs, funding one Greek city-state and then another to ensure none of them got too powerful.

在那次入侵中，波斯人對(duì)已經(jīng)撤離了市民的雅典城進(jìn)行了洗劫和毀滅，即使在薩拉米斯戰(zhàn)役之后，希臘人把波斯人趕出了歐洲，波斯帝國(guó)的力量仍然主導(dǎo)著這些地區(qū)，仍然繼續(xù)干涉希臘事務(wù)，資助了一個(gè)又一個(gè)的希臘城邦，以確保他們中的任何一個(gè)都不會(huì)變得太強(qiáng)。

The reason the Greeks made such a big deal about having defeated Persia was not because the Persians were weak and easily defeated, but rather for the opposite reason: because they had defeated an enemy that had previously seemed totally undefeatable.

希臘人戰(zhàn)勝波斯，變得如此出名，并不是因?yàn)椴ㄋ谷塑浫醵菀妆淮驍。且驗(yàn)橄喾吹脑?，即他們打敗了一個(gè)以前似乎完全無(wú)法戰(zhàn)勝的敵人。

ABOVE: Map from Wikimedia Commons showing the Greek world during the Greco-Persian Wars

上圖：來(lái)自維基公共地圖，顯示了希波戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間的希臘

Sure, Alexander the Great did eventually conquer the Achaemenid Empire, but that was partially because he got extraordinarily lucky. Alexander happened to attack just as the Persians were in the midst of a period of major political instability and when the Persians were under the leadership of Darius III, who was both a mediocre ruler and a mediocre commander. Alexander’s victory was also partly a result of the fact that he was an extraordinary strategic genius.

當(dāng)然，亞歷山大大帝最終征服了波斯帝國(guó)，但這在一定程度上是因?yàn)樗浅Ｐ疫\(yùn)。因?yàn)閬啔v山大攻打波斯人的時(shí)候，波斯人正處于重大的政治動(dòng)蕩時(shí)期。而當(dāng)時(shí)波斯人處于大流士三世的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)之下，大流士三世既是一個(gè)平庸的統(tǒng)治者，也是一個(gè)平庸的指揮官。當(dāng)然，亞歷山大的勝利在一定程度上也是因?yàn)樗且晃环欠驳膽?zhàn)略天才。
（譯注：大流士三世是波斯阿契美尼德王朝末代君主，他的經(jīng)歷有點(diǎn)類(lèi)似于中國(guó)歷史上的一些皇帝。出生旁支，當(dāng)時(shí)大宦官巴古把持朝政，大流士只好與其虛與委蛇，取得信任。因巴古殺得王室凋零，只好輪到大流士三世繼位，其獲得統(tǒng)治權(quán)之后讓巴古喝下毒酒死亡。主要成就鎮(zhèn)壓了埃及叛亂。）

Alexander’s victory was the result of perfect storm. If Alexander had not gotten lucky, then, even with all his cunning, he still would not have been able to conquer the Persians. If he had gotten lucky, but had not been as strategically talented, he would not have been able to conquer the Persians then either. Only with both factors going in his favor was he able to pull such a stunning conquest.

亞歷山大的勝利是當(dāng)時(shí)波斯各種糟糕的事情接憧而至的結(jié)果。如果亞歷山大沒(méi)有運(yùn)氣，那么，即使他再狡猾，他仍然無(wú)法征服波斯人。如果他只有運(yùn)氣好，沒(méi)有過(guò)人的謀略，那么他也就不可能征服波斯人。只有這兩種因素都有利于他，他才能取得如此驚人的勝利。

Alexander’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire was not the end of Persia, however. The Persians began building a new empire in the third century BC: the Parthian Empire. The Parthian Empire never reached the same territorial extent as the earlier Achaemenid Empire, but it still conquered a lot of land.

然而，亞歷山大征服阿契美尼德帝國(guó)并不是波斯的終結(jié)。波斯人在公元前三世紀(jì)開(kāi)始建立一個(gè)新的帝國(guó)：帕提亞帝國(guó)。帕提亞帝國(guó)從未達(dá)到與早期阿契美尼德帝國(guó)相同的領(lǐng)土范圍，但它仍然征服了許多土地。
（譯注：帕提亞帝國(guó)也就是我們中國(guó)所記載的安息國(guó)，是波斯人所建立，但是是波斯少數(shù)民族建立的，類(lèi)似于中國(guó)的清王朝。安息帝國(guó)與羅馬，漢朝，貴霜帝國(guó)成為同時(shí)期的世界四大并列強(qiáng)國(guó)。）

ABOVE: Map of the Parthian Empire at its greatest territorial extent

上圖：帕提亞帝國(guó)全盛時(shí)期的地圖。

The Parthians were able to hold more than their own against the Romans. In 53 BC, the Parthian general Surena famously utterly trounced a much larger Roman army under the command of the Roman general Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae.

帕提亞人非常善于對(duì)付羅馬人。公元前53年，帕提亞將軍蘇雷納在卡萊戰(zhàn)役中徹底擊敗了由羅馬將軍克拉蘇指揮的一支規(guī)模比他們更大的羅馬軍隊(duì)。
（譯注：卡萊戰(zhàn)役：兩萬(wàn)安息人對(duì)陣四萬(wàn)人的羅馬軍團(tuán)，羅馬軍隊(duì)全軍覆沒(méi)，羅馬三巨頭之一的克拉蘇被殺，羅馬軍團(tuán)的鷹旗被奪，是羅馬帝國(guó)最?lèi)u辱的戰(zhàn)斗之一。）

The Battle of Carrhae was one of the worst defeats Rome ever suffered. The Parthians killed or captured nearly all of the Romans who were at the battle and killed Crassus himself. That defeat was utterly humiliating for the Romans on its own, but the Parthians also captured numerous Roman golden eagles. Ultimately, partially because of that battle and partially because of the ensuing collapse of the Roman Republic, the Romans never conquered the Parthian homeland.
Although the Parthian Empire remained a thorn in Rome’s side for many centuries, it ultimately collapsed on its own and was replaced by the Sassanian Empire, which was stronger and more of a real threat to the Roman Empire during its waning years. The Roman emperor Julian the Apostate was famously killed in battle against the Sassanians in the Battle of Samarra on 26 June 363.

卡萊戰(zhàn)役是羅馬遭受的最嚴(yán)重的失敗之一。帕提亞人殺死或俘虜了幾乎所有參加戰(zhàn)斗的羅馬人，并殺死了克拉蘇。這一失敗對(duì)羅馬人來(lái)說(shuō)是一種徹底的羞辱，但帕提亞人也俘獲了無(wú)數(shù)的羅馬金鷹（譯注：指鷹旗）。最終，因?yàn)檫@場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)和之后羅馬共和國(guó)的崩潰，導(dǎo)致羅馬人從來(lái)沒(méi)有征服過(guò)帕提亞的家園。
雖然許多世紀(jì)以來(lái)，帕提亞帝國(guó)一直是羅馬一側(cè)的威脅，但最終帕提亞自己崩潰了，取而代之的是薩珊帝國(guó)，薩珊帝國(guó)在衰敗的廢墟中誕生崛起，并且更加強(qiáng)大，對(duì)羅馬帝國(guó)構(gòu)成了更大的威脅。公元363年6月26日，羅馬皇帝尤利安在泰西封戰(zhàn)役戰(zhàn)役中與薩珊王朝的戰(zhàn)斗中被殺。
（譯注：薩珊帝國(guó)就是大家所熟知的薩珊波斯。尤利安，英文作“朱利安 Julian”，是戰(zhàn)功卓越的東羅皇帝，最后一位羅馬多神教擁戴者，他野心勃勃遠(yuǎn)征波斯，但是他的對(duì)手也是一位野心勃勃的強(qiáng)人，即波斯皇帝沙普爾二世。）

ABOVE: Map of the Sassanian Empire at its greatest territorial extent in around 620 AD

上圖：公元620年左右全盛時(shí)期的薩珊帝國(guó)領(lǐng)土。

So, yeah, the ancient Persians actually won quite a lot.

所以，是的，古波斯人其實(shí)是經(jīng)常性的贏(yíng)家。