(Narrator) The story of writing, astronomy, and law.

(旁白) 書寫、天文、與法律的故事。

The story of civilization itself begins in one place.

一個文明故事起源之地。

Not Egypt, not Greece, not Rome.

不是埃及，不是希臘，也不是羅馬。

But Mesopotamia.

而是美索不達米亞。

Mesopotamia is an exceedingly fertile plain situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.

美索不達米亞就位於底格里斯河與幼發拉底河之間，是處極其肥沃的平原。

For five millennia, the small strip of land situated in what is today Iraq, Kuwait and Syria fostered innovations that would change the world forever.

5,000 年來，座落今日伊拉克、科威特與敘利亞的狹小土地上，促進許多創新發展，永遠改變了世界。

Inhabited for nearly 12,000 years,

文明在此將近 12,000 年，

Mesopotamia's stable climate, rich soil

美索不達米亞有穩定的氣候、肥沃的土壤，

and steady supply of fresh water made it ideal for agriculture to develop and thrive.

還有持續供給的淡水，這樣理想的條件使當地農業蓬勃發展。

About 6,000 years ago, seemingly overnight,

大約 6,000 年前，幾乎是一夜之間，

some of these agricultural settlements blossomed into some of the world's first cities.

有一些農業聚落發展成了世界上最早的城市。

In the period between 4,000 and 3,100 BC,

在公元前 4,000 至 3,100 年，

Mesopotamia was dotted with a constellation of competing city states.

美索不達米亞散布著許多互相競爭的城市國家。

At one point, they were unified under the Akkadian Empire

阿卡德帝國一度統一了這些城市國家，

and then broke apart forming the empires of Assyria and Babylon.

然後分裂成為亞述帝國與巴比倫帝國。

Despite near constant warfare,

儘管幾乎連年征戰，

innovation and development thrived in ancient Mesopotamia.

古美索不達米亞的創新與發展仍舊蓬勃。

They built on a monumental scale from palaces to ziggurats,

他們建造了巨大建築，從宮殿到金字形神塔，

mammoth temples served as ritual locations to commune with the gods.

龐大的神廟是用來與神祇交流的儀式場所。

They also developed advanced mathematics,

他們也發展了高等數學，

including a base 60 system that created

包括以 60 為基數的系統，

a 60-second minute, a 60-minute hour

創造出 60 秒為分，60 分為時，

and a 360-degree circular angle.

以及 360 度的圓形角度。

The Babylonians used their sophisticated system of mathematics to map and study the sky.

巴比倫人用他們複雜的數學系統來繪製、研究天空。

They divided one earth year into 12 periods.

他們將一個地球年分成 12 個時期。

Each was named after the most prominent constellations in the heavens,

每一個都以天空最著名的星座命名，

a tradition later adopted by the Greeks to create the zodiac.

這個傳統後來被希臘人採用，創造出黃道帶。

They also divided the week into seven days,

他們也把一周時間分為七天，

naming each after their seven gods

以他們的七個神祇命名，

embodied by the seven observable planets in the sky.

體現七個天空中可以被觀察到的行星。

But perhaps the most impactful innovation to come out of Mesopotamia is literacy.

但或許美索不達米亞最有影響力的創新是讀寫能力。

What began as simple pictures scrawled onto wet clay to keep track of goods and wealth

一開始是簡單的圖畫，潦草的畫上濕泥板上，用來記錄貨物與財富，

developed into a sophisticated writing system by the year 3,200 BC.

到了公元前 3,200 年發展成複雜的書寫系統。

This writing system would come to be called cuneiform in modern times

這樣的書寫系統在現代被稱為楔形文字，

and proved so flexible that over the span of 3,000 years,

而且在 3,000 年期間被證實使用上相當的靈活，

it would be adapted for over a dozen different major languages

楔形文字被改編成十餘種不同的主要語言，

and countless uses including recording the law of the Babylonian king Hammurabi,

還有無數的用途，包括紀錄巴比倫國王漢摩拉比頒布的法典。

which formed the basis of a standardized justice system.

這部法典建立了標準司法系統的基礎。

But Mesopotamia's success became its undoing.

但美索不達米亞的成功，也成為他的敗因。

Babylon in particular proved too rich a state to resist outside envy.

特別是巴比倫，結果變成一個太過富裕的國家，而抵擋不了外界的忌妒。

In 539 BC, the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon

公元前 539 年，波斯王居魯士大帝征服了巴比倫，

and sealed his control over the entirety of Mesopotamia.

從而控制了全部的美索不達米亞地區。

For centuries, this area became a territory of foreign empires.

好幾個世紀以來，這個地區變成外來帝國的領土。

Eventually, Mesopotamia would fade like its kings into the mists of history.

最終，美索不達米亞會像他的諸王一樣，消失在歷史的迷霧之中。

And its cities would sink beneath the sands of Iraq.

而他的城市會陷入伊拉克的沙土之下。

But its ideas would prevail in literacy, law, math, astronomy and the gift of civilization itself.

但思想會普遍留存在識字、法律、數學、天文學以及文明本身的餽贈上。