It was the largest contiguous land empire in history— stretching from Korea to Ukraine and from Siberia to southern China, and was forged on the open plains.
此帝國坐擁史上最大的完整國土 從韓國到烏克蘭 從西伯利亞到中國南方 在大平原上崛起
In the 12th century CE, before the Mongol Empire formed, the East Asian steppe was home to scattered groups of Mongol and Turkic pastoral nomads led by Khans. The people herded sheep, cattle, yaks and camels. They lived in felt tents and moved between summer and winter campsites. Nomadic women held significant authority, managing these migrations, many of the flocks and trade. Meanwhile, men specialized in mounted warfare.
12 世紀蒙古帝國形成之前 東亞大草原是 許多蒙古突厥遊牧民族的家 他們由可汗領軍 這些人牧綿羊、牛、犛牛和駱駝 住在毛氈搭的帳蓬 並於夏冬兩季間遷徙 遊牧民族的女性握有大權 管理這些遷徙、大量動物和貿易 同時間,男人負責騎馬打仗
These nomadic groups often fought each other. That was to change under Temujin, who was born into an aristocratic Mongol family. Despite losing his father at an early age and growing up in poverty, he quickly rose to power by forging strategic alliances with other leaders. Unlike those khans, Temujin promoted soldiers based on merit and distributed spoils evenly among them. His most brilliant move was to scatter the nomads he conquered among his own soldiers so they couldn't join together against him. These innovations made him unstoppable, and by 1206, he had united the people of the felt-walled tents and become Chinggis Khan.
這些遊牧民族時常相互征戰 直到鐵木真誕生才有了轉機 他原為蒙古貴族家庭出身 即使他年幼喪父後在貧困中長大 他仍透過整合策略聯盟 與其他將領合作快速取得權力 鐵木真和其他可汗不同 他會依據功績晉升士兵 並平均分配每人戰利品 他最為明智之舉在於 把他所征服的遊牧民族 安插在自己的士兵之間 這樣他們就不會聯合起來對抗他 這些創舉讓他勢不可擋 1206 年他統一了 以毛氈為牆來搭帳篷的人民
The Mongols were shamanists, believing that the spirits of nature and their ancestors inhabited the world around them. Over all arched the Sky god Tenggeri. Chinggis Khan believed that Tenggeri wanted him to conquer the entire world in his name. With the nomads of the Mongolian plain united, this seemed within reach. Anyone who resisted the Mongols was resisting Tenggeri's will, and for this insubordination, had to die.
而成為成吉思汗 蒙古人信奉薩滿教 相信天地有靈 祖靈存在他們週遭的環境裡 散布在穹蒼天神騰格里之間 成吉思汗相信騰格里 希望他以衪之名征服世界 隨著蒙古平原的遊牧民族統一 這個心願似乎已然實現 任何反抗蒙古人者 也就是反抗了騰格里的意志 不服從者則亡 在成吉思汗統治之下
Under Chinggis Khan, the Mongols first subdued northern China and the eastern Islamic lands. After his death in 1227, the Divine Mandate passed to his family, or the Golden Lineage. In the 1230s, Chinggis Khan's sons and daughters conquered the Turks of Central Asia and the Russian princes, then destroyed two European armies in 1241. In the 1250s, the Mongols seized Islamic territory as far as Baghdad, while in the East their grasp reached southern China by 1279.
蒙古先制伏了中國北方 和東邊的回教國家 在他 1227 年死後 神授之君權傳給他的家族 又稱為黃金氏族 1230 年代,成吉思汗的兒女 征服中亞的土耳其人和俄國君王 並在 1241 年擊潰兩支歐洲軍隊 1250 年代,蒙古人掠奪 伊期蘭領土直至巴格達 1279 年時他們東征至中國南方 蒙古帝國的生活並非只是 征戰、掠奪和催毀
Life within the Mongol Empire wasn't just war, pillage and destruction. Once the Mongols conquered a territory, they left its internal politics alone and used local administrators to govern for them. The Mongols let all religions flourish, as long as the leaders prayed for them. Although they routinely captured artisans, scholars and engineers, they appreciated what those specialists could do and forcibly settled them across Asia to continue their work. The most valuable produce in the Empire was gold brocade, which took silk from China, gold from Tibet and weavers from Baghdad. Gold brocade clothed the Mongol rulers, covered their horses and lined their tents. The Mongols particularly prized gunpowder technicians from China. With much of Eurasia politically unified, trade flourished along the Silk Road, helped by an extensive system of horse messengers and relay posts. Robust trade continued at sea, especially in blue-and-white porcelain, which combined white pottery from Mongol China with blue dye from Mongol Iran.
一旦蒙古人征服一塊領地 就不干涉其內政 任命當地官吏為其治理 蒙古人任由所有宗教蓬勃發展 只要其領袖為他們祈福 雖然他們不斷俘虜 工匠、學者和技工 他們也讚賞這些人的專長 並強行安置他們在亞洲各地 繼續完成他們的任務 帝國最有價值的產物是金絲綢 他們從中國取絲、西藏取金 運用巴格達的織匠 金絲綢用來製作蒙古君主衣冠 覆蓋在馬匹上和做為帳篷內襯 蒙古人特別賞識中國的炮彈技術 由於歐亞政治結合 貿易也沿著絲路興盛 這都要歸功於四通八達的郵驛制度 蓬勃的貿易發展至海上 尤其是青花瓷 結合了蒙古時期中國的白色陶器 和蒙古時期伊朗的藍色顏料 但好景不常
But this was not to last. Succession to the Great Khan didn't automatically go to the eldest son, but rather allowed brothers, uncles and cousins to vie for leadership with senior widows acting as regents for their sons. By the 1260s, Chinggis Khan's grandsons were in a full- blown civil war over inheritance and fragmented the realm into four separate empires. In China, Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty is remembered as a golden age of science and culture. In Iran, the Ilkhanate inaugurated the development of new monumental architecture and Persian miniature painting. In Central Asia, the Chagatai Khanate brought forth leaders like Timur and his descendant Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire in India. And in Eastern Europe, the Golden Horde ruled for years until a trading post named Muscovy grew into a major world power. Even though the Empire lasted only a short while, the Mongols left a legacy of world- domination that remains unmatched today.
可汗的長子不必然是繼承人 任何兄弟、叔伯、姪甥都能爭奪王位 並由年長的寡母攝政代子治國 1260 年間 成吉思汗的子孫陷入爭奪遺產之戰 因而將王國一分為四 忽必烈在中國統治的元朝 是後世流傳的科學文化黃金時代 位在伊朗的伊兒汗國開啟了 新穎巨大建築與波斯繪畫的發展 位於中亞的察合台汗國 帶來了未來的領導人帖木兒 繼承他的巴布爾 開創了位在印度的蒙兀兒帝國 欽察汗國在東歐統治了幾年 直到莫斯科貿易站崛起 並成為世界主要勢力 即使蒙古帝國歷時不長 蒙古人一統天下的傳奇至今無可匹敵