06 THE STORY OF EGYPT

埃及的历史

THE RISE AND FALL OF EGYPT

THE river Nile was a kind friend but occasionally it was a hard taskmaster. It taught the people who lived along its banks the noble art of “team-work.” They depended upon each other to build their irrigation trenches and keep their dikes in repair. In this way they learned how to get along with their neighbours and their mutual-benefit-association quite easily developed into an organised state.

Then one man grew more powerful than most of his neighbours and he became the leader of the community and their commander-in-chief when the envious neighbours of western Asia invaded the prosperous valley. In due course of time he became their King and ruled all the land from the Mediterranean to the mountains of the west.

But these political adventures of the old Pharaohs (the word meant “the Man who lived in the Big House”) rarely interested the patient and toiling peasant of the grain fields. Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought just, he accepted the rule of Pharaoh as he accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris.

It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions. After twenty centuries of independent life, a savage Arab tribe of shepherds, called the Hyksos, attacked Egypt and for five hundred years they were the masters of the valley of the Nile. They were highly unpopular and great hate was also felt for the Hebrews who came to the land of Goshen to find a shelter after their long wandering through the desert and who helped the foreign usurper by acting as his tax-gatherers and his civil servants.

But shortly after the year 1700 B.C., the people of Thebes began a revolution and after a long struggle the Hyksos were driven out of the country and Egypt was free once more.

A thousand years later, when Assyria conquered all of western Asia, Egypt became part of the empire of Sardanapalus. In the seventh century B.C., it became once more an independent state which obeyed the rule of a king who lived in the city of Saïs in the Delta of the Nile. But in the year 525 B.C., Cambyses, the king of the Persians, took possession of Egypt and in the fourth century B.C., when Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great, Egypt too became a Macedonian province. It regained a semblance of independence when one of Alexander’s generals set himself up as king of a new Egyptian state and founded the dynasty of the Ptolemies, who resided in the newly built city of Alexandria.

Finally, in the year 89 B.C., the Romans came. The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save the country. Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps. Twice she was successful in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors. But in the year 30 B.C., Augustus, the nephew and heir of Cæsar, landed in Alexandria. He did not share his late uncle’s admiration for the lovely princess. He destroyed her armies, but spared her life that he might make her march in his triumph as part of the spoils of war. When Cleopatra heard of this plan, she killed herself by taking poison. And Egypt became a Roman province.

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埃及的兴亡

尼罗河虽是一个好朋友，但有时也是一个严厉的监督。它教给沿岸的居民高贵的畜牧技术。百姓间因为彼此帮助筑沟、修路，便养成与邻居往来的习惯。这样的彼此有利益的结合，很容易发展成一个有组织的国家。

后来有一个比一般人特别有能力的人做了社会的领袖，等到他们的西亚细亚敌人进攻这繁盛的流域时，他被推举为大元帅。他便渐渐的做了他们的国王，治理由地中海起一直到西方诸山一带地方。

但是坚忍劳苦的田间农民对于老法老（意思是“住在大房子里的人”）的政治活动不生兴趣。假使他不必给国王纳他认为过分的租税，他一定承受法老的治理，如同承受全能的乌悉利斯神的一样。

但是异邦的侵略者进来劫夺他的财产时，情形当然不同了。他过了两千年的独立生活之后，一个阿拉伯的野蛮的游牧部落，名为海克索斯的来侵埃及，占领了尼罗河流域足有五百年之久。他们很不受欢迎。而那些在沙漠上漂游许久，到高逊来寻一个寄身的地方，后来竟扶助埃及的侵略者，做了他们的税吏与各种官员的希伯来人也遭埃及人民的极大忌恨。

但在纪元前一七○○年后不久的时候，底比斯人起了革命，经过长时间的战争，将海克索斯人逐出国境，于是埃及恢复了一度自由。

又经过一千年，亚西利亚族征服了西亚细亚全地，埃及又成为沙顿奈巴露斯帝国的属地。纪元前七○○年间，埃及又一度成为自主的国家，受治于那位住在尼罗河的三角洲的沙市城内的国王。但至纪元前五二五年，波斯的冈比西王又把埃及占领了。到了纪元前四百年时，波斯被亚历山大王战胜之后，埃及又成马其顿的属地。后来亚历山大的一个将官自立为新埃及的国王，建国号为托勒米，住在新建的亚历山大城里，那时埃及又得到一度名是实非的独立。

最后，到了纪元前三十九年，罗马人来了。埃及最后的皇后姑娄巴用尽方法救她的国家。她的美貌对于罗马的军官比埃及六个军队的势力更厉害。她两次袭击罗马军官的心都成功了。但在纪元前三十年，恺撒的侄子又是恺撒的承继者的奥古士都，驻扎在亚历山大城内。他可不像他的舅父受这位可爱的皇后的迷惑。他歼灭了她的军队，但是饶了她的性命，要把她当作一个战利品，叫她在凯旋队里游行。姑娄巴听到这个消息，便服毒自尽。埃及于是又变为罗马的藩属。