纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 046阿卜杜勒马立克金币(4)

"In the years that followed the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632, the caliphs were essentially¹ the political and religious leaders of the Muslim community. All Arab Muslims in the first century of Islam, realised that this was a new state-that what went on before wasn't really relevant. These caliphs were not the successors of the Byzantine emperors or of the Sassanian king of kings. They might look to these people for solutions to administrative² problems-how you collect money, and indeed what sort of money you make-but they wouldn't see themselves as performing the same sort of role. This was a new dispensation."

公元632年，穆罕默德去世之后，哈里发成为穆斯林最重要的政治及宗教领袖。在伊斯兰历的最初一百年内,所有的阿拉伯穆斯林都意识到他们处在一个全新的国度，之前的一切都不重要。哈里发不是拜占庭皇帝的继承人，也不是萨珊王朝万王之王的继承人。他们也许会借鉴这些帝王管理国家的经验，比如如何收税，收哪些税，但他们并不认为自己与前人扮演着同样的角色。这个制度是全新的。

One of the administrative solutions that Abd al-Malik borrowed from the Byzantine emperors was how to manage the currency. Up until now, the new Islamic empire had used hand-me-down coins from the pre-conquest era, or imported, and especially Byzantine, gold coins, but Abd al-Malik quickly saw what every chancellor³ of the exchequer⁴ has seen since, namely that there'll be economic instability if a ruler does not control the quantity and the quality of his own money supply. He understood that coins are literally⁵ the stamp of authority, asserting the dominant⁶ power in the society using them-and that power was now his.

阿卜杜勒马利克向拜占庭皇帝借鉴的管理手法之一便是货币管理。在此之前，新伊斯兰帝国所使用的货币要么是占领区的前朝传下来的，要么是从伊斯坦布尔进口的金币。但阿卜杜勒马利克很快意识到，如果不去控制货币的数量与质量，就会出现经济动荡。他也了解到货币是权力的印章，是向它所流通的社会表明统治权的手段，而统治权如今在他手中。

It's worth remembering that in the pre-modern world, coinage was often the only mass-produced item in use, and it was therefore a hugely significant element in the visual culture of a society-money was a billboard⁷ for the boss. And so the boss, Abd al-Malik, was stamped on this first overtly⁸ Islamic coinage. The Leader of the Faithful had ousted⁹ and replaced the emperors of Byzantium.

在前现代社会，货币几乎是唯一一种在日常生活中被大量制造并流通的物品，因而也是一个国家视觉文化中最重要的因素。因此，阿卜杜勒马利克本人的形象出现在了伊斯兰第一款公开行的货币上。拜占庭皇帝被信徒的领路人取而代之。

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 exchequer   

n.财政部；国库

参考例句：

• In Britain the Chancellor of the Exchequer deals with taxes and government spending.英国的财政大臣负责税务和政府的开支。
• This resulted in a considerable loss to the exchequer.这使国库遭受了重大损失。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

8 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

9 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。