Level 5 Reading 11A

Reading 11A

阅读11A

THE WORLD OF SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT Writer Merle Severy examines the legacy of one of the giant historical figures of the 16th century— a ruler who stood at the crossroads of East and West. Near the Hungarian town of Szigetvar, a road sign caught my eye:"Szuliman." It was a dying village, the young having moved away, the old hanging on. "It was named for a sultan who came long ago," a man in his garden told me. I asked what he did there. "I heard that he died here," a woman said. "The old folks would know, but they are all dead now." My curiosity led me to a churchyard in the nearby countryside. On the church facade I saw an Ottoman Turkish inscription. A crescent stood by the wall, bathed in the light of the setting sun. It was at this site, I read, that was buried the heart of Sultan Suleyman. The 16th century was an age notable for the overlapping reigns of giant historical figures: Spanish Emperor Charles V, protector of the Christian Church; his rival Francis I, King of France; Henry VIII of England; Ivan the Tenrible, all-powerful ruler of Russia.

苏莱曼的世界 作家Merle Severy审视了16世纪一位伟大历史人物的遗产-- 站在东西方十字路口的统治者。 在匈牙利小镇Szigetvar附近，一个路标吸引了我的目光：“Szuliman。” 这是一个垂死的村庄，年轻人搬走了，老人还在。 “它是以很久以前来的一位苏丹的名字命名的，”花园里的一个男人告诉我。 我问他在那里做什么。 “我听说他死在这里，”一位女士说。 “老人们会知道的，但他们现在都死了。” 我的好奇心把我带到了附近乡村的一个教堂墓地。 在教堂正面，我看到了奥斯曼土耳其铭文。 一个新月站在墙边，沐浴在夕阳的余晖中。 我读到，苏丹苏莱曼的心脏就埋在这个地方。 16世纪是一个以巨型历史人物重叠统治而闻名的时代： 西班牙皇帝查理五世，基督教会的保护者； 他的对手法国国王弗朗西斯一世；英格兰亨利八世； 伊凡，俄罗斯全能的统治者。

EMPIRE OF THE OTTOMANS The Ottoman Empire lasted from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 20th— a period of more than 600 years. Occupying a strategic position at the junction of three continents, the empire rose to become a major world power under Suleyman the Magnificent (1494-1566). From his capital Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), Suleyman expanded his territory from central Europe to the southern coast of what is now lraq. He created a powerful navy that secured coastlines along the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean and brought most of the North African coast under Ottoman control. Yet, even among this hierarchy of great leaders, one ruler arguably stood taller than the rest: Suleyman, Commander of the Faithful, Shadow of God on Earth, Protector of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, Lord of the Lords of the World, East and West. Revered by his people as "Kanuni," the Lawgiver, and feared and admired by the West as "the Magnificent," Suleyman brought the Ottoman Empire to the peak of its power. Suleyman was born at a time of world war, of East against West, with two superpowers locked in mortal conflict on the lands and seas of three continents. Time and again, Christian and Muslim forces clashed in the seas around the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean, and on land in Europe from Turkey to Austria. Away from what the Ottomans called the Realm of War, the frontier against their unholy enemies, was the Realm of Peace, where races and religions coexisted with the sultan acting as a great mediator of peoples. At its heart was Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), a cosmopolitan crossroads of continents that grew so large that no other European capital overtook it until the start of the 19th century. It was Suleyman's great-grandfather, Mehmed the Conqueror, who turned Constantinople into the greatest of all European cities. Mehmed was a descendant of nomadic tribesmen from central Asia who became followers of Osman, the first Ottoman sultan, in the 13th century. From these humble origins, Mehmed rose in power, carrying the banner of Islam in a series of conquests through Serbia, Greece, and Eastern Europe; only his death in 1481 prevented him from pressing the conquest of Italy and taking Rhodes, the last Christian stronghold in the east. Mehmed's dream of building a world empire that brought together East and West would eventually be taken up by his great-grandson, Suleyman. As a young man, the future sultan was educated near the Aegean Sea where he had been assigned as governor. Well-read in history, the Koran, politics, science, astrology, and poetry, and skilled in horsemanship and archery, Suleyman had been carefully prepared for his role as a future world leader. On hearing of his father Selim's death in 1520, Suleyman rode for three days until he arrived in Constantinople. As he approached, Suleyman looked at the city that would become his capital: the fortress with its great cannons, the dome of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, the wooden houses sheltering immigrant families. In this crowded city, Spanish Moors and Jews expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella joined with Turks, Greeks, and Armenians in the shops that filled the city's covered bazaar. On September 30, eight days after Selim's death, Suleyman took up the sword of Osman in an elaborate ceremony and was declared sultan. From that time on, he held absolute power over his people, with the right of instant death over any subject. But as he first rode from his palace, his people gathered to raise their voice in a ritual warning to a new monarch: "Be not proud, my sultan. God is greater than you!" Suleyman's first official acts were to order a tomb, mosque, and school built in honor of his father; to free 1,500 Egyptian and Iranian captives; and to pay back merchants for goods that Selim had taken from them. These won him popular approval for piety, magnanimity, and justice. "It seemed to all men," one observer commented, "that a gentle lamb had succeeded a fierce lion." But the lamb proved to be a lion in disguise. A revolt in Syria was put down savagely. Then Suleyman set out to achieve what Mehmed the Conqueror had failed to do. In his first European campaign, the city of Belgrade— the key to Christian defenses in the Balkans—fell after weeks of massed attacks. The next summer, in 1522, he besieged Rhodes, which stood between his capital and the ports of Egypt and Arabia, including the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The siege began on July 29 and lasted 145 bloody days, until the knights' desperate defense ended. Having brought into submission the strongest fortified city in Christendom, Suleyman offered generous terms: Knights could leave freely within 12 days, and citizens could depart at any time within three years. Again he won admiration for his magnanimity. Little did he realize the price he would pay later for letting the knights go. As success followed success in his campaigns, contemporaries wrote with awe of the glories of the sultan's empire. "I know of no state which is happier than this one," reported the Venetian ambassador in 1525. "It is furnished with all God's gifts. It controls war and peace with all;

奥斯曼帝国 奥斯曼帝国从13世纪末持续到20世纪初，长达600多年。 位于三大洲交界处的战略要地， 在苏莱曼大帝（1494-1566）的领导下，帝国崛起为世界主要强国。 从他的首都君士坦丁堡（今伊斯坦布尔）出发， 苏莱曼将他的领土从中欧扩展到现在的伊拉克南部海岸。 他创建了一支强大的海军，保卫红海和地中海东部的海岸线 并将北非海岸的大部分地区置于奥斯曼帝国的控制之下。 然而，即使在这些伟大领袖的等级制度中， 一位统治者可以说比其他统治者都高：苏莱曼， 忠诚者的指挥官，上帝在地球上的影子， 麦加、麦地那和耶路撒冷圣城的保护者， 世界之主，东方和西方。 被他的人民尊为“卡努尼”，立法者，被西方敬畏和钦佩为“伟人” 苏莱曼将奥斯曼帝国带到了权力的顶峰。 苏莱曼出生于一个东西方世界大战时期， 两个超级大国在三大洲的陆地和海洋上陷入了致命的冲突。 基督教和穆斯林军队一次又一次地在印度洋周围海域发生冲突， 红海和地中海，以及从土耳其到奥地利的欧洲陆地。 远离奥斯曼帝国所谓的战争王国， 对抗邪恶敌人的边境是和平之境， 在那里，种族和宗教共存，苏丹充当着人民的伟大调解人。 其核心是君士坦丁堡（今伊斯坦布尔）， 一个日益壮大的国际大都市十字路口 直到19世纪初，没有其他欧洲资本超过它。 那是苏莱曼的曾祖父，征服者穆罕默德， 他把君士坦丁堡变成了欧洲最伟大的城市。 穆罕默德是中亚游牧部落的后裔，后来成为奥斯曼的追随者， 13世纪奥斯曼帝国的第一位苏丹。 穆罕默德从这些卑微的出身中崛起， 在塞尔维亚、希腊和东欧的一系列征服中，高举伊斯兰教的旗帜； 只有他在1481年去世，才阻止了他征服意大利和占领罗得岛， 东部最后一个基督教据点。 穆罕默德的梦想是建立一个东西方融合的世界帝国 最终被他的曾孙苏莱曼收养。 年轻时，这位未来的苏丹在爱琴海附近接受教育，在那里他被任命为总督。 在历史、古兰经、政治、科学、占星术和诗歌方面读得很好， 擅长骑术和射箭， 苏莱曼已经为他作为未来世界领导人的角色做好了精心准备。 在听说父亲塞利姆于1520年去世后， 苏莱曼骑马三天，直到抵达君士坦丁堡。 当他走近时，苏莱曼看着这座将成为他的首都的城市： 有大炮的堡垒，宏伟的圣索菲亚大教堂的圆顶， 为移民家庭提供庇护的木屋。 在这座拥挤的城市里，被费迪南德和伊莎贝拉驱逐的西班牙摩尔人和犹太人 与土耳其人、希腊人和亚美尼亚人一起在布满城市有盖集市的商店里购物。 9月30日，塞利姆去世八天后， 苏莱曼在一个精心设计的仪式上接过奥斯曼的剑，被宣布为苏丹。 从那时起，他对他的人民拥有绝对的权力，对任何臣民都有立即死亡的权利。 但当他第一次骑马离开宫殿时， 他的人民聚集在一起，向新君主发出仪式性的警告： “不要骄傲，我的苏丹。上帝比你伟大！” 苏莱曼的第一个官方行为是下令修建坟墓、清真寺和学校，以纪念他的父亲； 释放1500名埃及和伊朗俘虏； 并向商人偿还塞利姆从他们那里拿走的货物。 这些为他赢得了虔诚、宽宏大量和正义的普遍认可。 “在所有人看来，”一位观察者评论道， “一只温顺的小羊接替了一头凶猛的狮子。” 但事实证明，这只小羊是一只伪装的狮子。 叙利亚的一场起义被野蛮镇压。 然后苏莱曼开始实现征服者穆罕默德未能做到的事情。 在他的第一次欧洲战役中，贝尔格莱德市-- 巴尔干半岛基督教防御的关键——在数周的大规模袭击后倒塌。 第二年夏天，1522年，他围攻罗得岛， 它位于他的首都和埃及和阿拉伯的港口之间， 包括伊斯兰圣城麦加。 围攻始于7月29日，持续了145天，直到骑士们绝望的防御结束。 苏莱曼征服了基督教世界最坚固的设防城市，并提出了慷慨的条件： 骑士可以在12天内自由离开，公民可以在三年内随时离开。 他的宽宏大量再次赢得了人们的钦佩。 他几乎没有意识到，他以后会为放走骑士付出代价。 随着他的竞选活动取得成功， 同时代的人对苏丹帝国的辉煌充满敬畏。 “据我所知，没有哪个州比这个州更幸福，”威尼斯大使在1525年报告道。 “这是上帝所有的恩赐。 它控制着所有人的战争与和平；

it is rich in gold, in people, in ships, and in obedience; no state can be compared with it. May God long preserve the most just of all emperors." The Venetian ambassador's glowing and no doubt biased description is perhaps understandable considering the spectacular show that was put on to welcome visitors to the Ottoman capital. A foreign ambassador's reception was carefully designed to show Ottoman grandeur and power at its most impressive. On approaching the sultan's Topkapi Palace, the envoy first saw the heads of executed traitors hanging from the Imperial Gate. Passing the executioner's chambers, the envoy entered a shining portico. There he was met on the sultan's behalf by the monarch's vizier, or grand advisor, who, on special occasions, led the envoy past 2,000 bowing officials and heaps of silver coins. The visitor was then offered a "hundred dishes or thereabout, most boiled and roasted." Then on to the sacred inner precincts. The ambassador was robed in gold cloth while his royal presents were inspected, since the sultan was "not to be approached without gifts." At the door of the throne room, two officials held the visitor firmly by the arms. The visitor was led across the room, then forced to subordinate himself by kneeling down and kissing the sultan's foot. He was then raised to deliver his message. The sultan, heavy with silk, gold and silver threads, sat on a jewel-studded throne. Suleyman might make a comment or indicate with a nod that the audience was over. The ambassador was then led backwards out of the room, never turning his back on the sultan. The sultan's response might come much later, usually via his advisor. The envoys who met Suleyman in this way would scan his features for signs of his health and character. From their descriptions, we know something of how the great sultan looked and acted, but we know very little of his thoughts, of what really was in the mind of the Lord of Lords. What sort of man was Suleyman? Of his private life—his attitudes and his thoughts—we can infer very little. His campaign diaries are written in the third person, without emotion. For example, from his third campaign: "The Emperor, seated on a golden throne, receives [his] viziers ...; massacre of 2,000 prisoners; the rain falls in torrents." Glimpses of humanity are rare, but revealing. After the siege of Rhodes, Suleyman consoles the knights' leader for his loss, praises his brave defense, then confides to a follower. "It's not without regret that I force this brave man from his home in his old age." We know that Suleyman showed wisdom as a lawgiver, creating a new code of laws and giving legal protection to minorities. He was also pious, consulting theologians on crucial decisions; just, allowing no corruption or injustice to go unpunished; and, usually, fair. Ironically, it was an act of generosity that led, years later, to his greatest defeat. As a young man, Jean Parisot de la Valette fought against Suleyman in the siege of Rhodes, but was later released. Just over four decades later, la Valette led the defense of the great Christian stronghold of Malta. The surprise defeat at the hands of the Christian knights marked the beginning of the end of Ottoman domination in the Mediterranean. As the siege of Malta ended, Suleyman was entering his 73rd year, making him the longest-reigning of all Ottoman monarchs. During his reign, he had extended his Islamic empire through southeastern Europe, across much of the Middle East, and in North Africa as far west as Algeria. His code of laws, known as the kanun-i Osmani ("Ottoman Laws"), was to last more than 300 years, and he presided over some of the greatest architectural achievements in the Islamic world. Despite these achievements, Suleyman's mood became increasingly dark. To wipe out the disappointment of Malta, he set out on May 1, 1566, to capture Vienna. The sultan could no longer sit on a horse, so he rode in a carriage, making the journey painfully slow. Suddenly, word came that a Hungarian count had executed one of Suleyman's governors and was now hiding in Szigetvar. In a fury, Suleyman diverted his entire army to avenge the injustice. Even with only 2,500 defenders, Szigetvar held off the Ottomans for a month, until the fortress was finally shattered by explosives. Holding up his jeweled sword in surrender, the count came out with his survivors— but there was no sultan to greet him. Suleyman had died in the night in his tent. Following Suleyman's death, the Ottoman Empire was squeezed by Russian expansion in the east and European domination of southern Asia. Ottoman possessions in the Mediterranean lost their strategic role. Western technology overtook Ottoman military might, and—with no new lands, taxes, or manpower—imperial decline set in. During the 19th century, the empire became known as the "Sick Man of Europe." Nevertheless, when more than a dozen nations emerged from its umbrella in the early 20th century, their languages, religions, and cultures had been largely preserved— a legacy, in part, of Suleyman's tolerance of minorities. Three weeks after the emperor's death, the sultan's successor was announced, and Selim, the son of Suleyman and his queen Roxelana, became the new Sultan Selim II. It is believed that Suleyman's heart was buried where he died, and the rest of his remains began the long journey home. When the sultan's body reached the capital, the army fell silent, as did the people who followed behind. Their leader all their lives, he raised their sacred empire to its golden age. Their descendants would look back on it with pride and nostalgia— but they would never see his like again. THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST TOMB OF SULEYMAN After the siege of Szigetvar, Suleyman's body was taken to Constantinople for burial. It was said that his heart remained behind in Hungary, buried in a golden casket beneath the tent where he died, but it has never been found. Professor Norbert Pap from the University of Pecs in Hungary believes he may be getting close. In a settlement near Szigetvar,archeologists have unearthed Ottoman brick and tile, plus 16th-century luxury goods from the East. Pap believes the lost tomb of Suleyman the Magnificent may not be far away. Yet other scholars believe the entire story was merely a colorful myth made up years later. "All they had to do was bury the body—intact—and exhume it later," says renowned Ottoman scholar Nicholas Vatin. This had been done before, with the body of Selim I in 1520, notes Vatin. Keeping the death of a sultan secret until the successor could be informed was not unusual for the Ottomans in the 16th century. Vatin has concluded that the story was just local folklore. "The romantic story of Suileyman's heart being buried in Hungary, I'm sorry to say, is just a myth."

它有丰富的黄金、人民、船只和顺从；任何国家都无法与之相比。 愿上帝保佑所有皇帝中最公正的一位。" 这位威尼斯大使热情洋溢且毫无疑问带有偏见的描述或许是可以理解的 考虑到为欢迎游客来到奥斯曼帝国首都而举办的壮观表演。 一位外国大使的招待会经过精心设计，以展示奥斯曼帝国最令人印象深刻的宏伟和力量。 在接近苏丹的托普卡匹宫时， 使者首先看到被处决的汉奸的头颅挂在皇门上。 经过刽子手的房间，特使进入了一个闪闪发光的门廊。 在那里，他代表苏丹会见了君主的维齐尔或大顾问， 在特殊场合，他带领特使走过2000名鞠躬的官员和成堆的银币。 然后，客人被提供了“大约一百道菜，大部分都是煮和烤的。” 然后是神圣的内部区域。 大使在接受皇家礼物检查时穿着金布长袍， 因为苏丹“没有礼物就不能接近” 在王座室门口，两名官员紧紧地搂着来访者的胳膊。 客人被领着穿过房间， 然后，他跪下亲吻苏丹的脚，迫使自己屈服。 然后，他被要求传达他的信息。 苏丹坐在镶满珠宝的宝座上，全身都是丝绸、金线和银线。 苏莱曼可能会发表评论或点头表示观众已经结束了。 大使随后被带出了房间， 他从不背弃苏丹。 苏丹的回应可能要晚得多，通常是通过他的顾问。 以这种方式会见苏莱曼的特使会仔细检查他的面部特征，寻找他的健康和性格迹象。 从他们的描述中，我们可以了解到这位伟大的苏丹的长相和行为， 但我们对他的想法知之甚少，对万主之主的真实想法也知之甚少。 苏莱曼是什么样的人？ 关于他的私生活——他的态度和思想——我们可以推断的很少。 他的竞选日记是用第三人称写的，没有感情。 例如，在他的第三次竞选中： “皇帝坐在金色的宝座上，接受[他的]维齐尔。。。； 屠杀2000名囚犯；大雨倾盆而下。" 人性的一瞥很少见，但很有启发性。 罗得岛围城后，苏莱曼安慰骑士领袖的损失， 赞扬他勇敢的防守，然后向追随者吐露心声。 “我迫使这位勇敢的老人在晚年离开家，这并非没有遗憾。” 我们知道苏莱曼作为立法者表现出了智慧， 制定新的法典，为少数民族提供法律保护。 他也很虔诚，在关键决策上咨询神学家； 公正，不允许任何腐败或不公正行为不受惩罚；而且，通常是公平的。 具有讽刺意味的是，多年后，正是这种慷慨的行为导致了他最大的失败。 年轻时，Jean Parisot de la Valette在罗得岛围城战中与苏莱曼作战，但后来被释放。 就在四十多年后，拉瓦莱特领导了对伟大的基督教据点马耳他的防御。 基督教骑士的意外失败 标志着奥斯曼帝国在地中海统治结束的开始。 随着马耳他围城战的结束，苏莱曼进入了他的第73个年头， 使他成为奥斯曼帝国所有君主中统治时间最长的。 在他统治期间，他将伊斯兰帝国扩展到东南欧， 在中东大部分地区，以及在北非，甚至在阿尔及利亚西部。 他的法典，被称为kanun-i Osmani（“奥斯曼法律”），持续了300多年， 他主持了伊斯兰世界一些最伟大的建筑成就。 尽管取得了这些成就，苏莱曼的情绪变得越来越低落。 为了消除马耳他的失望，他于1566年5月1日出发占领维也纳。 苏丹再也不能坐在马上了，所以他坐在马车里，让旅程变得非常缓慢。 突然，有消息传来，一名匈牙利伯爵处决了苏莱曼的一名总督，现在躲在西格特瓦尔。 苏莱曼怒不可遏，调遣全军为不公报仇。 即使只有2500名防守者，Szigetvar也抵挡了奥斯曼帝国一个月， 直到堡垒最终被炸药炸毁。 伯爵举起镶有宝石的剑投降，带着幸存者走了出来-- 但没有苏丹来迎接他。 苏莱曼在夜里死在帐篷里。 苏莱曼去世后，奥斯曼帝国受到俄罗斯在东部扩张的挤压 以及欧洲对南亚的统治。 奥斯曼帝国在地中海的领土失去了战略作用。 西方技术超越了奥斯曼帝国的军事力量， 而且，由于没有新的土地、税收或人力，帝国衰落开始了。 在19世纪，帝国被称为“欧洲病夫” 然而，当20世纪初十几个国家从其保护伞中脱颖而出时， 他们的语言、宗教和文化在很大程度上得到了保护-- 这在一定程度上是苏莱曼对少数民族的宽容。 皇帝去世三周后，苏丹的继任者宣布， 苏莱曼和他的王后罗克塞拉娜的儿子塞利姆成为了新的苏丹塞利姆二世。 据信苏莱曼的心脏埋在他去世的地方， 剩下的遗体开始了漫长的回家之旅。 当苏丹的遗体抵达首都时，军队陷入了沉默， 跟在后面的人也是如此。 他们的领袖一生，他将他们神圣的帝国提升到了黄金时代。 他们的后代会带着自豪和怀旧的心情回顾这一切-- 但他们再也见不到像他这样的人了。 寻找苏莱曼失落的坟墓 Szigetvar围城后，苏莱曼的遗体被送往君士坦丁堡安葬。 据说他的心留在了匈牙利， 他被安葬在帐篷下的一个金色棺材里，但一直没有找到。 匈牙利佩奇大学的诺伯特·帕普教授认为，他可能正在接近目标。 在Szigetvar附近的一个定居点，考古学家发掘了奥斯曼砖瓦， 加上来自东方的16世纪奢侈品。 帕普认为，苏莱曼大帝的陵墓可能就在不远处。 然而，其他学者认为，整个故事只是多年后编造的一个丰富多彩的神话。 “他们所要做的就是完整地埋葬尸体，稍后再挖出。” 著名的奥斯曼学者尼古拉斯·瓦廷说。 Vatin指出，这在1520年塞利姆一世的尸体上就已经完成了。 在16世纪，奥斯曼帝国将苏丹的死亡保密，直到继任者得到通知，这并不罕见。 Vatin得出结论，这个故事只是当地的民间传说。 “很抱歉，Suileyman的心脏被埋在匈牙利的浪漫故事只是一个神话。”

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