美国学生人类历史 第122期:穆罕默德(1)

 Chapter 28   Mohammed 第二十八章 穆罕默德

Ahmed, the camel-driver, who became the prophet of the arabian desert and whose followers¹ almost conquered the entire known world for the greater glory of allah,the only true god 赶骆驼者阿哈默德成为阿拉伯沙漠的先知，为了唯一真主安拉的荣耀，他的追随者几乎征服了整个世界

Since the days of Carthage and Hannibal we have said nothing of the Semitic people. 自从迦太基和汉尼拔之后，我们再未说起过伟大的闪米特种族。

You will remember how they filled all the chapters devoted² to the story of the Ancient World. 如果你记性不错，你应该还能想起他们的事迹是如何体现在本书讲述古代世界的所有章节的。

The Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Jews, the Arameans, the Chaldeans, all of them Semites, had been the rulers of western Asia for thirty or forty centuries. 巴比伦人、亚述人、腓尼基人、犹太人、阿拉米尔人、迦勒底人，这些统治西亚三四千年的民族都属于闪米特种族。

They had been conquered by the Indo-European Persians who had come from the east and by the Indo-European Greeks who had come from the west. 后来，他们被来自东面的印欧语族的波斯人和来自西面的印欧种族的希腊人夹击，终于丧失了统治地位。

A hundred years after the death of Alexander the Great, Carthage, a colony of Semitic Phoenicians, had fought the Indo-European Romans for the mastery of the Mediterranean³. 亚历山大大帝死去100年后，腓尼基人的非洲殖民地迦太基城和罗马共和国展开了争夺地中海统治权的战争。

Carthage had been defeated and destroyed and for eight hundred years the Romans had been masters of the world. 迦太基战败后为罗马人彻底摧毁。此后的800年，罗马人一直是世界之主。

In the seventh century, however, another Semitic tribe appeared upon the scene and challenged the power of the west. 不过到公元7世纪，又一支闪米特部族赫然出现在历史的地平线上，挑战西方世界的权威。

They were the Arabs, peaceful shepherds who had roamed through the desert since the beginning of time without showing any signsof imperial ambitions. 他们就是阿拉伯人，游牧在阿拉伯沙漠的天性温 和的牧羊人部落。一开始，他们并未流露出任何帝国野心的征兆。

Then they listened to Mohammed, mounted their horses 后来，他们追随了穆罕默德，听从他的训导，跨上远征的战马。

and in less than a century they had pushed to the heart of Europe and proclaimed the glories of Allah, "the only God," 在不到1个世纪里，阿拉伯骑兵已经推进到欧洲的心脏地带，向浑身颤抖、惊慌失措的法兰西农民，

and Mohammed, "the prophet of the only God," to the frightened peasants of France. 宣讲"唯一的真神安拉"的荣耀和"安拉的先知"穆罕默德的信条。

1 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

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。