纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 043沙普尔二世银盘(6)（在线收听）

The different surface textures have been beautifully rendered by the craftsman,who's chosen different kinds of stippling for the flesh of the animal and the clothing of the King. And the key elements of the scene-the King's crown and clothing,the heads,tails and hooves of the stags,are highlighted in gold. When this was displayed in the flickering candlelight of a banquet,the gold would have animated the scene and focussed attention on the central conflict between the King and the beast. This is how Shapur wanted himself to be seen,and his kingdom to be understood. And silver dishes like this one were used by the Sasanian kings in vast quantities,sent as diplomatic gifts across the whole of Asia.

图画中的细节被工匠表现得栩栩如生，他运用不同的手法打造出动物肌肉与国王服饰。图中的重点，即国王的王冠、服饰，鹿的头、尾和蹄都用黄金装饰。当银盘出现在烛光摇曳的宴会上时，黄金将为图画增添生气，让大家把注意力集中在国王与野兽的冲突上。这就是沙普尔想展现给人民的形象，他也希望别国如此理解他的国家。萨珊国王曾大量铸造这样的银盘，作为外交礼物送往亚洲各地。

As well as sending silver dishes with symbolic images,Shapur also sent Zoroastrian missionaries. It was an identification of the faith with the state that was ultimately to prove very dangerous,especially after the Sasanian Dynasty was swept away and Iran was conquered by the armies of Islam. Here's the historian Tom Holland again:

除了送出具有象征意义的银盘外，沙普尔还派出了琐罗亚斯特教的传教士。这种与政权紧密结合的方式最终被证明十分危险，尤其是当萨珊王朝倒台、伊朗被伊斯兰军队占领之后。汤姆·霍兰德解释道：

"Well Zoroastrianism has really pinned its colours to the Sasanian mast. It has defined itself through the Empire and through the monarchy. And so when those collapse,Zoroastrianism is really crippled. And although over time it is accepted that Zoroastrianism should be tolerated,Islam never affords it the measure of respect that they give to Christians or to Jews. A further problem is that Christians of course,even those that have been conquered by Muslims,can look to independent Christian empires,independent Christian kingdoms,and know that there is such a thing as Christendom still in existence.

琐罗亚斯特教与萨珊王朝被紧紧地绑在了一起。它通过帝国与君主来给自己定位。因而当帝国崩塌后，琐罗亚斯特教也元气大伤。虽然最终这一信仰被保留了下来，但伊斯兰教从来没给过他们与基督徒或犹太教相同的尊重。更大的一个问题是，基督徒们就算自己的国家被穆斯林攻占，总还能找到独立的基督帝国或王国，他们知道总会有这样的地方存在。