纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 046阿卜杜勒马立克金币(3)

On the front, where a Byzantine coin would have had the emperor, it has a full-length figure of the Caliph, Abd al-Malik. And on the back, where the Byzantines would have put a cross, there is a column with a sphere at the top.

在第一枚金币的正面，通常的拜占庭货币放置帝王像的地方，是哈里发阿卜杜勒马利克的全身像。这是已知最早的穆斯林画像。金币背面，拜占庭人铸十字架的地方，铸着一个顶着圆球的圆柱。

Al-Malik is shown full-figure, standing¹ and bearded, wearing Arab robes and a Bedouin scarf headdress, with his hand resting on a sword at his waist. It's a fascinating image. It's a unique source for our knowledge of the dress and the regalia of the early caliphs, and it's probably the oldest known depiction² of a Muslim. His pose is menacing, he looks as though he's about to draw his sword, and the lines below his waist are almost certainly meant to represent a whip. What we have is an image to inspire fear and respect, an image that makes it clear that the eastern Mediterranean³ now has a new faith, and a formidable new ruler. A letter from one of his governors echoes the image's implicit⁴ message:

阿卜杜勒马利克的全身像为站姿，他长须，着阿拉伯袍，戴贝都因式头巾，腰悬宝剑，一手搭在剑上。这幅像十分精彩，是我们了解早 期哈里发服饰与王权象征的唯一途径。他威风凜凜，仿佛就要拔剑在手。 腰下的线条应代表着长鞭。像的目的是要让人产生敬畏，表明地中海东部如今已有了新的信仰以及威严的新统治者。他手下某位官员的信函也应和了图像暗含的信息：

"It is Abd al-Malik, the commander of believers, a man with no weaknesses, from whom rebels can expect no indulgence! On the one who defies him falls his whip!"

阿卜杜勒马利克，信徒之统帅，无懈可击的领袖，对叛徒绝不手软！他的鞭子会抽到与他对抗的人身上！

He cuts an impressive awe-inspiring figure-although a less reverential source tells us that he had such appalling⁵ halitosis, that he was nicknamed the "fly-killer". But, bad breath or not, Abd al-Malik was the most important Muslim leader since Muhammad himself, because he transformed what might have been merely a string of ephemeral conquests into an abiding⁶ state, a state that would survive in one form or another until the end of the First World War.

他的模样十分庄严，但据野史记载，他有极为严重的口臭，以致有“苍蝇杀手”的绰号。但无论如何，他都是自穆罕默德之后最伟大的穆斯林领袖，是他将这一片原本可能只是短期征服的领土变成了统一的国度，以不同的形态一直延续至一战结束。

Abd al-Malik was a new breed of Islamic leader. He had no personal memory of Muhammad, and he shrewdly saw how best to exploit the administrative⁷ traditions of earlier empires-especially Rome and Byzantium-in order to establish his own, as Professor Hugh Kennedy, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, explains.

阿卜杜勒马利克不同于以往的伊斯兰领袖。他没有亲身接触过穆罕默德。而且他狡猾地从早期帝国，尤其是罗马和拜占庭帝国的统治经 验中吸取了最好的传统来建立自己的国家。伦敦亚非学院的休肯尼迪教授解释道。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

5 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

6 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。