Name: 【TED-Ed】拜占庭帝國興亡簡史 (The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire - Leonora Neville)
Uploaded: 2018-04-20T13:50:08.000Z
Duration: 5 min 21 s

Most history books will tell you the Roman Empire fell in the fifth century CE.

多數歷史書會說羅馬帝國在 公元五世紀時滅亡，

But this would've come as a great surprise to the millions of people

who lived in the Roman Empire up through the Middle Ages.

數百萬名生活在中世紀 羅馬帝國的人非常驚訝。

which we usually refer  to today as the Byzantine Empire,

That's when Constantine, the first Christian emperor,

moved the capital of the Roman Empire  to a new city called Constantinople,

把羅馬帝國的首都 搬到新城市康士坦丁堡，

which he founded on the site of the ancient Greek city Byzantion.

and the Empire's western provinces  were conquered by barbarians,

及帝國西邊省分被野蠻人征服後，

Constantine's Eastern capital remained  the seat of the Roman emperors.

康士坦丁作為東邊首都， 保留羅馬帝國的名號，

There, generations of emperors ruled  for the next 11 centuries.

在那裡，歷代帝王統治 接下來的 11 個世紀。

Sharing continuity with  the classical Roman Empire

gave the Byzantine empire a technological and artistic advantage over its neighbors,

讓拜占庭帝國比起她的鄰居 在技術及藝術上更有優勢，

因此拜占庭認為鄰居都是野蠻人。

In the ninth century,  visitors from beyond the frontier

were astonished  at the graceful stone arches and domes

對君士坦丁堡皇宮裡 優雅的石拱門和圓頂讚嘆。

of the imperial palace in Constantinople.

A pair of golden lions flanked  the imperial throne.

當客人跪在地上時， 一個隱藏的機關會讓老虎吼叫。

A hidden organ would make the lions  roar as guests fell on their knees.

黃金鳥在身旁的黃金樹上唱歌。

Golden birds sung from a nearby golden tree.

中世紀羅馬工程師 甚至使用液壓引擎

Medieval Roman engineers  even used hydraulic engines

to raise the imperial throne  high into the air.

Other inherited aspects  of ancient Roman culture

Working-class Byzantines would've also  had similar lives

不只是停留在古羅馬的桂冠而已，

didn't just rest  on the laurels of Ancient Rome.

藝術家創新，創造巨幅馬賽克 及華麗的大理石雕刻。

Their artists innovated, creating vast  mosaics and ornate marble carvings.

Their architects constructed numerous churches,

她有非常高的圓頂，據傳 有一條天堂垂下的鎖鍊掛著它。

had a dome so high it was said to be hanging on a chain from heaven.

帝國同時也聚集許多學者， 例如安娜．科穆寧娜，

The Empire was also home to great intellectuals such as Anna Komnene.

As imperial princess in the 12th century,

Anna dedicated her life  to philosophy and history.

她對她父親治理帝國的紀錄 是歷史學家重要的來源，

Her account of her father's reign is historians' foremost source

記載第一次十字軍東征時 拜占庭的政治歷史。

for Byzantine political history  at the time of the first crusade.

invented a system of beacons that ran the width of the empire—

這套系統能傳送訊號到帝國角落，

this system allowed the edge of the Empire to warn the emperor of invading armies

within one hour of sighting them at the border.

But their advances couldn't  protect the Empire forever.

但他們先進的技術 無法永遠保護帝國。

In 1203, an army of French  and Venetian Crusaders

1203 年，一支法國和威尼斯的十字軍

made a deal with a man  named Alexios Angelos.

和阿歷克塞．安杰洛斯達成協議，

Alexios was the son of a deposed emperor,

阿歷克賽是一位被廢黜皇帝的兒子，

and support to help him retake  the throne from his uncle.

請求協助他從叔叔那重奪王位。

the population rebelled and Alexios  himself was deposed and killed.

人民反叛，阿歷克賽被罷黜且處死，

So Alexios's unpaid army turned  their aggression on Constantinople.

還沒得到報償的軍隊 因而揮軍康士坦丁堡。

which destroyed countless works of ancient and medieval art and literature,

摧毀無數古代及中世紀的 藝術和文學作品，

leaving about one-third  of the population homeless.

也讓約三分之一的人無家可歸。

The city was reclaimed 50 years later  by the Roman Emperor Michael Palaiologos,

這城市 50 年後由羅馬皇帝 米海爾．帕里奥洛加斯重建，

but his restored Empire never regained all the territory

但重建的帝國再也沒有 奪回本來的領土，

Finally, in 1453, Ottoman Emperor Mehmed the Conqueror captured Constantinople,

最後， 1453 年，鄂圖曼皇帝 征服者穆罕默德奪下康士坦丁堡，

bringing a conclusive end  to the Roman Empire.

many Greek-speaking inhabitants  of the Eastern Mediterranean

continued to call themselves Romans  until the early 21st century.

繼續稱自己是羅馬人， 直到 21 世紀早期。

that the term “Byzantine Empire”  was first used.

「拜占庭帝國」才開始被使用。

the Renaissance was about  reconnecting with the wisdom of antiquity.

文藝復興是和古代智慧重新連結，

And since the existence of a medieval Roman Empire

suggested there were Europeans  who'd never lost touch with antiquity,

暗示著仍有歐洲人 沒有失去和古代的連結。

Western Europeans wanted to draw  clear lines between the ages.

西歐人為了劃分清楚不同時代，

To better distinguish the classical,  Latin-speaking, pagan Roman Empire

區別古典、說拉丁語的 異教羅馬帝國時期

from the medieval,  Greek-speaking, Christian Roman Empire,

及中世紀、說希臘語的 基督教羅馬帝國，

scholars renamed  the latter group Byzantines.

學者將後者重新命名為拜占庭，

And thus, 100 years after it had fallen, the Byzantine Empire was born.

因此，在帝國滅亡 100 年後， 拜占庭帝國這個詞誕生了。

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【TED-Ed】拜占庭帝國興亡簡史 (The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire - Leonora Neville)

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