注：英語原文取自最古老版本的帝國時(shí)代一的幫助文件中，關(guān)于歷史的文本量相當(dāng)巨大，但在win7系統(tǒng)更新后，以win95為基礎(chǔ)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?yàn)樵環(huán)lp文件并未隨著羅馬復(fù)興資料片的更新而更新，所以這個(gè)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?yàn)槟甏眠h(yuǎn)（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(shí)97：埃及。CV6378334

Egyptian culture (5000 to 30 BC)

The Egyptian culture was one of the oldest and most long-lived of antiquity. It benefited from an abundance of good farmland, nearby mineral resources, and a good strategic position. Despite occasional invasion and internal strife, it endured as a distinctive culture for nearly 5000 years.

Location

Ancient Egypt occupied almost the same area as modern Egypt does today. Its civilization stayed very close to the Nile River. Because it was almost entirely surrounded by desert, enemies could approach only from the west and northeast along the Mediterranean coast, from the south down the river valley, or directly over the sea.

Capital

During its long history, the capital of Egypt was located at various times in Hierakonpolis, Memphis, Herakleopolis, Thebes, It-towy, Akhetaten, Tanis, Sais, and Alexandria. The most important of these were Memphis and Thebes. Alexandria was founded as the capital by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Greek overlords, the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruled from here until 30 BC.

Rise to power

Agriculture was brought to the Nile Valley prior to 5000 BC by immigrants from the highlands of Palestine. By 3000 BC, agriculture had spread southward up the Nile. Flooding was under control and irrigation put much more land under cultivation. The abundance of food led to large populations and increased wealth for the area.The early history of Egypt was a period of consolidation. Two separate kingdoms rose and vied for power along the river. Around 3100 BC, King Menes of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt (centered on the lowland river delta) and established the First Dynasty.Between 3100 BC and 1300 BC, the Egyptians struggled with Nubians and Kushites up the Nile to the south. Forts and garrisons held the frontier but during periods of weakness these were destroyed. Around 1300 BC the Nubians suffered an important defeat and were neutralized as a threat for about 500 years.Egypt's Dynasty XIII, 1783 to 1640 BC, was very weak. During this period the frontier forts to the south were lost and Semitic immigrants from the east moved into the delta. These immigrants, called the Hyksos, took control of the entire delta region in 1674 BC. The Hyksos eventually adopted Egyptian culture and language, and introduced the horse and chariot.The New Kingdom was founded by Dynasty XVIII in 1552 BC, following a successful war to drive out the Hyksos. This dynasty was the great age of the warrior pharaohs and Egyptian empire. To prevent further incursions from the east, the Egyptians attempted to establish control over the kingdoms in the Levant and Palestine. During this period they vied for control with the Hittites and Mitanni, as well as the local kings. The Egyptians were the dominant power in the Near East until around 1200 BC when the entire area was overrun by barbarians.

Economy

Egypt was an agricultural society dependent on the water and soil brought down each year by the Nile from the highlands of Ethiopia. Extensive irrigation made it possible to farm fields not adjacent to the river but still close enough to be inundated each year and receive new sediments. The principal crops were wheat and barley that were used to make bread and beer, the staples of their diet. They also grew fruits and vegetables and raised cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, and pigeons. The abundance of food meant a large population and allowed the export of food.The Nile passes through several hilly regions and some of these were rich in minerals. The nearby Sinai Peninsula also held mineral riches. Unlike some other ancient cultures, the Egyptians had relatively easy access to copper and gold, further increasing their wealth. The hills were sources of granite, limestone, and sandstone that they used for construction.The Egyptians were one of the first cultures to build boats and they eventually took these out into the Mediterranean. Egypt became an important Mediterranean port of call as trade increased because it was a rich market for both buying and selling. Principal Egyptian exports were grain, food, linen, perfume, and manufactured goods. Important imports were timber, slaves, silver, horses, pottery, and wine.

Religion and culture

The Egyptian religion had over 2000 gods, though only a few of these were predominant. The important gods had a home town where their principal temple was located. One of the most important was Ra, the sun god, understandably critical to an agricultural society.They believed in a life after death. They referred to this as the "Next world" and thought it was somewhere to the west. They developed elaborate burials and embalming to preserve the body for this second life. Goods and servants were buried with royalty and nobles to serve them.

Government

The ancient Egyptians believed their kings were descended from the sun god Ra. They believed they could communicate with the gods through the king.The king had absolute power but was required to perform several important duties. He was responsible for the harvest and irrigation of crops. He directed the government, trade, and foreign policy. He enforced the laws and led the army. During the New Kingdom, the pharaohs usually commanded their armies in the field.Reporting directly to the pharaoh were two viziers, one for Lower Egypt based in Memphis and one for Upper Egypt based in Thebes. Below the viziers were rural districts controlled by governors and towns controlled by mayors. These officials carried out the pharaoh's orders and collected taxes. Scribes kept the records.The Egyptians had no coinage until they were conquered by Alexander the Great. All workers paid taxes by turning over a percentage of their production, whether it was fish, grain, trade goods, pottery, or other goods. In addition, each household had to provide a laborer for several weeks each year for mining or public works. The pyramids were probably built by laborers putting in their annual service.

Military

The Egyptians were among the first cultures to possess the necessary population and wealth to build standing armies of professional soldiers. Prior to the Hyksos invasion around 1675 BC, Egyptian soldiers were equipped with simple bows, maces, and spears. The Hyksos introduced the horse and chariot, which were quickly adopted by the Egyptians in turn. The dominance of the Near East by New Kingdom Egypt, from 1600 to 1200 BC, was primarily due to the large and powerful chariot armies sent into battle there. These chariots carried a driver and composite bow archer and were the elite of the army.

Decline and fall

Egypt survived the catastrophe of 1200 BC by fighting off several major attempted invasions. They went into decline, nevertheless, following the death of Rameses III who was the last of the great warrior pharaohs. Their decline was partly due to trade coming to a virtual halt for several generations. A series of weak kings and civil wars over succession to the throne also eroded their strength.In 728 BC Egypt was conquered by Nubia and held for 60 years. In 665 BC the Assyrians completed a conquest of Egypt by sacking Thebes. A new native Egyptian dynasty arose in 664 BC, eventually throwing out the Nubians and asserting their independence from Assyria by stopping payment of tribute. In 525 BC Egypt was conquered again from the east, this time by Cambryses II of Persia. When the Persians faltered in their war with the Greeks, the Egyptians reclaimed their independence briefly before succumbing once more to Persian invasion by 332 BC. Within a year, however, the Persians themselves were gone, destroyed by Alexander the Great who was accepted by the Egyptians as their pharaoh.Greeks ruled Egypt as overlords from the time of Alexander the Great until 30 BC when Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Mark Antony were defeated by Octavian. Egypt thereafter became part of the Roman Empire.

Legacy

The ancient Egyptians are remembered for the quality and quantity of cultural objects that have survived to the present, including the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the treasures of Tutankhamen's tomb, the other monuments and temples of the Nile Valley, hieroglyphics, mummies, and papyrus. They are also remembered in the West because of their prominent role in the history of ancient Israel as recounted in the Old Testament.

埃及文化（公元前5000至公元前30年）

埃及文化是古代最古老最久遠(yuǎn)的古文明之一。他受益于豐富良好的農(nóng)田，礦產(chǎn)資源的靠近以及良好的戰(zhàn)略地理位置。盡管偶爾遭到入侵或內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，但文化經(jīng)歷了將近五千年保持獨(dú)特。

位置

古埃及占據(jù)了幾乎和今天埃及相近的地區(qū)，它的文明非常貼近尼羅河。由于幾乎完全被沙漠包圍，敵人只能從地中海沿岸的西部和東北部、河谷南部或者直接從海上進(jìn)攻。

首都

埃及的首都在漫長的歷史中先后位于海拉康波利斯、孟菲斯、赫拉克勒波利斯、底比斯、伊提亞塔維、埃赫塔吞、坦尼斯、薩伊斯和亞歷山大里亞。其中最重要的是孟菲斯和底比斯。公元前331年，亞歷山大大帝建立了亞歷山大里亞。希臘領(lǐng)主、后來托勒密王國在這里統(tǒng)治埃及直到公元前30年。

發(fā)展壯大

公元前5000年，來自巴勒斯坦高原的移民將農(nóng)業(yè)帶到了尼羅河谷。公元前3000年，農(nóng)業(yè)向南延伸到尼羅河，洪水受到了控制，灌溉土地越來越多。食物豐富引起了人口增長、財(cái)富增加。埃及的早期是鞏固的時(shí)期，兩個(gè)獨(dú)立的王國興起并沿著河流奪取權(quán)力。大約公元前3100年，上埃及國王美尼斯征服了下埃及（以尼羅河三角洲為中心）建立了第一王朝。公元前3100年至公元前1300年，埃及人和庫塞特人、努比亞人一起向南，在邊界建立了軍營和要塞，但在虛弱的時(shí)期，這些軍營要塞都被破壞。公元前1300年左右努比亞遭受了重大的失敗，并在后來的500年作為一種威脅保持中立。埃及的第十三王朝，公元前1783至公元前1640年非常虛弱。在這段時(shí)期，南方的邊防堡壘淪陷，東方的閃族人移民進(jìn)入三角洲，這些被稱為?？怂魅说囊泼裨诠?674年控制了整個(gè)三角洲。?？怂髯罱K使用了埃及的文化和語言，并引進(jìn)了馬和戰(zhàn)車。新王國在公元前1552年建立（第十八王朝），成功戰(zhàn)勝了?？怂?。這個(gè)王朝是法老戰(zhàn)士和埃及帝國的偉大時(shí)代。為了防止東方的進(jìn)一步入侵。埃及人試圖對(duì)黎凡特人和巴勒斯坦的王國進(jìn)行控制。在這段時(shí)期內(nèi)，他們與赫梯、米坦尼及當(dāng)?shù)氐膰跻黄鹗艿娇刂?，埃及直到約公元前1200年都是近東的絕對(duì)統(tǒng)治者，直到整個(gè)地中海都被海民野蠻人淹沒。

經(jīng)濟(jì)

埃及是一個(gè)由每年從埃塞俄比亞高原流下的尼羅河水漲落保持水土而維持的農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)，廣泛的灌溉使得可能不甚靠近河流但每年仍可被河水淹沒并得到新的沉積物的農(nóng)田也能耕種。主要作物是用于制作面包和啤酒的小麥和大麥，它們是埃及主要的飲食。他們還種植水果蔬菜、養(yǎng)牛、豬、羊、山羊、鵝、鴨和鴿子。食物豐富意味著人口眾多，允許出口食物。尼羅河穿過了幾個(gè)丘陵地帶，其中一些礦物質(zhì)豐富。附近的西奈半島也擁有礦產(chǎn)資源。與其他古文明不同，埃及人相對(duì)容易獲得銅和黃金，進(jìn)一步增加財(cái)富。山丘是用于建造建筑物的花崗巖、石灰?guī)r和砂巖的來源。埃及人是第一批建造船只的文明之一，并最終將其帶入地中海。隨著貿(mào)易的增加，埃及成為一個(gè)重要的地中海港口，因此，它是一個(gè)豐富的買賣市場(chǎng)。埃及主要的出口產(chǎn)品是糧食、食物、亞麻布、香水和手工制品。重要的進(jìn)口產(chǎn)品是木材、奴隸、銀、馬、陶器和葡萄酒。

宗教與文化

埃及的宗教有2000多個(gè)神，盡管其中只有少數(shù)是主要的。重要的神在他們家鄉(xiāng)有主神廟。最重要的是拉，太陽神，對(duì)農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)顯而易見的重要。他們相信人死后有另一個(gè)生活，他們將其稱為“下一個(gè)世界”，認(rèn)為這是西方的某個(gè)地方，他們開發(fā)了精心設(shè)計(jì)的埋葬和防腐方法，以保護(hù)身體的第二次生命。商人和仆人被埋在皇室和貴族身上，為他們服務(wù)。

政府

古埃及人認(rèn)為他們的國王是太陽神拉的化身。他們相信可以通過國王與神交流。國王有絕對(duì)的權(quán)力，但要履行幾項(xiàng)重要職責(zé)。他負(fù)責(zé)保證作物的灌溉和收獲，指導(dǎo)政府、貿(mào)易和外交政策、執(zhí)法、領(lǐng)軍。在新王國，法老們通常在野外指揮軍隊(duì)，直接向法老報(bào)告的是兩個(gè)軍機(jī)大臣。一個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)下埃及，在孟菲斯。另一個(gè)在上埃及，在底比斯。以下是由市長控制的省市和附屬農(nóng)村。這些官員執(zhí)行法老的命令，征收稅款。書記保留記錄。埃及在亞歷山大征服前從未造幣。所有工人通過通過上交一定比例的產(chǎn)物來交稅，無論是魚類、糧食、商品、陶器還是其他商品都要交稅，此外，每個(gè)家庭每年必須作為工人提供幾個(gè)星期的采礦或公共工程。金字塔可能是由勞工年度輪班提供服務(wù)修建的。

軍事

埃及是第一個(gè)有足夠的人口和財(cái)富來維持職業(yè)常備軍的文明之一。在公元前1675年希克索入侵之前，埃及士兵裝備了簡單的弓箭、胸甲和矛。?？怂饕M(jìn)了馬和戰(zhàn)車。公元前1600至1200年，新王國的埃及在近東占主導(dǎo)地位，主要是由于大型戰(zhàn)車在那里發(fā)動(dòng)戰(zhàn)斗。這些戰(zhàn)車帶著司機(jī)和復(fù)合弓箭手，是軍隊(duì)的精英。

衰落與滅亡

埃及在公元前1200年的大災(zāi)難中幸存下來，打退了幾次重大的入侵。然而，隨著最后一位最偉大的法老戰(zhàn)士，拉美西斯三世的死亡，埃及走向了衰敗。他們的衰敗是由于幾代人以來貿(mào)易的停滯不前。一系列弱小的國王和對(duì)王位繼承的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)消耗了實(shí)力。公元前728年，埃及被努比亞征服了60年，公元前665年，亞述通過摧毀底比斯完成了對(duì)埃及的征服。公元前664年誕生了一個(gè)新的埃及王朝，推翻了努比亞人，并通過停止進(jìn)貢宣稱獨(dú)立。公元前525年埃及又被東方征服，這次是被波斯的坎布雷斯二世。當(dāng)波斯人與希臘人爭霸時(shí)，埃及短暫的恢復(fù)了獨(dú)立，然而公元前332年又被波斯入侵，一年之內(nèi)，波斯帝國被亞歷山大大帝所毀滅，被埃及人接受為法老，希臘人從此開始統(tǒng)治埃及。直到公元前30年，最后一個(gè)托勒密王朝因?yàn)榫砣腭R克安東尼和屋大維的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)而戰(zhàn)敗，從此埃及成為羅馬帝國的一部分。

遺產(chǎn)

古埃及被相當(dāng)質(zhì)量和數(shù)量的文物所記住，包括金字塔、獅身人面像、圖坦卡蒙陵墓、尼羅河谷的方尖石碑、寺廟、象形文字、紙草等都有記載。他們也被以色列人因?yàn)闅v史上的突出作用被牢記著：他們?cè)谖髅妗?/p>

2017年7月5日翻譯于西苑新家