作者：John Haldon約翰·哈爾頓

出版商：Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

The Byzantine lands

拜占庭的土地

???????? The Byzantine, or medieval eastern Roman, empire was restricted for most of its existence to the southern Balkans and Asia Minor - very roughly modern Greece and modern Turkey. In the middle of the 6th century, after the success of the emperor Justinian's reconquests in the west, the empire had been much more extensive, including all of the north African coastal regions from the Atlantic to Egypt, along with south-eastern Spain, Italy and the Balkans up to the Danube. But by the later 6th century the Italian lands were already contested by the Lombards, while the Visigoths of Spain soon expelled the imperial administration from their lands. The near eastern provinces in Syria, Tray and the Transjordan region along with Egypt were all lost to Islam by the early 640s, and north Africa followed suit by the 690s. In a half century of warfare, therefore, the empire lost some of its wealthiest regions and much of the revenue to support the government, the ruling elite and vital needs such as the army. Much of the territory that remained to the empire was mountainous or arid, so that the exploitable zones were really quite limited in extent. Nevertheless, an efficient (for medieval times) fiscal administration and tax regime extracted the maximum in manpower and agricultural resources, while a heavy reliance on well-planned diplomacy, an extensive network of ambassadors, emissaries and spies, a willingness to play off neighbours and enemies against one another, and to spend substantial sums on 'subsidies' to ward off attack, all contributed to the longevity of the state. And these measures were essential to its survival, for although Constantinople was itself well defended and strategically well placed to resist attack, the empire was surrounded on all sides by enemies, real or potential, and was generally at war on two, if not three, fronts at once throughout much of its long history. The 10th-century Italian diplomat Liutprand of Cremona expressed this situation well when he described the empire as being surrounded by the fiercest of barbarians - Hungarians, Pechenegs, Khazars, Rus' and so forth.

（拜占庭帝國，或中世紀(jì)的東羅馬帝國，其存在的大部分時間都被限制于巴爾干南部和小亞細亞——大致是現(xiàn)代希臘和現(xiàn)代土耳其一帶。6世紀(jì)中葉，查士丁尼大帝在西部成功收復(fù)失地后，帝國的版圖擴大了許多，包括從大西洋到埃及的所有北非沿海地區(qū)，以及西班牙東南部、意大利從巴爾干半島一直到多瑙河。但是到了6世紀(jì)后期，意大利的土地已經(jīng)被倫巴第人搶奪，而西班牙的西哥特人很快就將帝國政府驅(qū)逐出該地。敘利亞、特雷和外約旦地區(qū)以及埃及的近東省份在 640 年初期都被伊斯蘭教徒所占領(lǐng)，而北非在690年也緊隨其后。 因此，在半個世紀(jì)的戰(zhàn)爭中，帝國失去了一些最富裕的地區(qū)和大部分收入來支持政府、統(tǒng)治精英和軍隊等。帝國剩下的大部分領(lǐng)土都是山區(qū)或干旱地區(qū)，因此可開發(fā)區(qū)域的范圍確實相當(dāng)有限。盡管如此，有效的（中世紀(jì)時期）財政管理和稅收制度最大限度地提取了人力和農(nóng)業(yè)資源，同時嚴(yán)重依賴精心策劃的外交、廣泛的大使、使者和間諜網(wǎng)絡(luò)，以及與鄰國和敵對方進行交涉，并花費大量的“補貼”來抵御外族攻擊，這些都為國家的長存做出了巨大貢獻。這些措施對其生存至關(guān)重要，盡管君士坦丁堡本身防御良好，在戰(zhàn)略上也能很好地抵御攻擊，但帝國被四面八方的敵人包圍，無論是真實的還是潛在的，并且拜占庭帝國通常在與兩個甚至三個鄰國交戰(zhàn)，在其漫長歷史的大部分時間里，都同時出現(xiàn)在前沿戰(zhàn)線上。10世紀(jì)克雷莫納的意大利外交官柳特普蘭德 (Liutprand)形容帝國被最兇猛的野蠻人包圍——匈牙利人、佩切涅格人、可薩人、羅斯人等，這很好地表達了帝國所遭遇的情況。）

????????? Asia Minor was the focus of much of the empire's military activity from the 7th until the 13th century. There are three separate climatic and geographical zones, consisting of the coastal plains, the central plateau regions, and the mountains which separate them. While hot, dry summers and extreme cold in winter characterise the central plateau, and where, except for some sheltered river valleys, the economy was mainly pastoral - sheep, cattle and horses - the coastlands, where most productive agricultural activity and the highest density of settlement was located, offered a friendlier, 'Mediterranean' type climate, and were also the most important source of revenues for the government. The pattern of settlement was similarly strongly differentiated - most towns and cities were concentrated in the coastal regions, while the mountains and plateaux were much more sparsely settled. Similar considerations applied to the Balkans, too, and in both cases this geography affected road systems and communications. The empire needed to take these factors into account in strategic planning and campaign organisation, of course, for logistical considerations - the sources of manpower, food and shelter, livestock and weapons, how to move these around, and how they were consumed played a key role in the empire's ability to survive in the difficult strategic situation in which it found itself.

?（從7世紀(jì)到13世紀(jì)，小亞細亞地區(qū)是帝國大部分軍事活動的中心。這里有三個獨立的氣候和地理區(qū)域，包括沿海平原、中部高原地區(qū)和將它們分開的山脈。中部高原夏季炎熱干燥，冬季極度寒冷，除一些有遮蔽的河谷外，經(jīng)濟主要以畜牧業(yè)為主——羊、牛和馬——沿海地區(qū)，那里的農(nóng)業(yè)活動最多，人口密度最高。定居點位于沿海地區(qū)，那里給人們提供了更友好的“地中海”式氣候，這里也是政府最重要的收入來源地。聚居模式也同樣分化嚴(yán)重——大多數(shù)城鎮(zhèn)都集中在沿海地區(qū)，而山區(qū)和高原則人煙稀少。類似的考慮也適用于巴爾干地區(qū)，在這兩種情況下，這種地理環(huán)境都影響了道路系統(tǒng)和通信。帝國需要在戰(zhàn)略規(guī)劃和競選組織中考慮這些因素，當(dāng)然，從后勤方面考慮——人力資源、食物和住所、牲畜和武器的來源，以及如何移動這些資源，以及如何消費這些資源，都對帝國在艱難的戰(zhàn)略形勢下的生存能力起到了關(guān)鍵作用。）

????????? Armies, whether large or small, and whether Byzantine or hostile forces, faced many problems when campaigning in or across Asia Minor, in particular the long stretches of road through relatively waterless and exposed country, and the rough mountainous terrain separating coastal regions from central plateaux. The complex Roman and Hellenistic road system was partly retained during the Byzantine period, but the empire after the 6th century developed a range of military routes together with a series of fortified posts and military bases - for these same routes also served as means of access and egress for Arab forces. Strategic needs changed, of course, and so did the road system, with routes falling in and out of use.

（軍隊，無論大小，無論是拜占庭自己的還是敵對勢力的，在小亞細亞或穿越小亞細亞時都面臨許多問題，特別是穿過相對干旱且暴露的帝國長路，以及將沿海地區(qū)與中部高原分隔開來的崎嶇山區(qū)。復(fù)雜的羅馬和希臘化道路系統(tǒng)在拜占庭時期得到了部分保留，但 6 世紀(jì)之后的帝國開發(fā)了一系列軍事路線以及一系列防御工事和軍事基地——因為這些相同的路線也作為通向和 阿拉伯軍隊的出口。 當(dāng)然，戰(zhàn)略需求發(fā)生了變化，道路系統(tǒng)也發(fā)生了變化，路線時而被放棄，時而被使用。）

????????? The Balkans present a rugged and fragmented landscape falling broadly into two zones: the coastal and riverine plains (of Thrace, of Thessaly and of the south Danubian area), which are productive and fairly densely occupied; and the mountain ranges that dominate the whole region and represent about two-thirds of its area - the Dinaric Alps in the west, stretching from north-east to south-west; the southerly Pindus range with which they merge, and which together dominate western and central Greece; and the Balkan chain itself, stretching from the Morava river as far as the Black Sea coast, with the Rhodope range forming an arc to the south, through Macedonia towards the plain of Thrace. The fragmented terrain has given rise to a series of distinct geopolitical units separated by ridges of highlands, fanning out along river valleys towards the coastal areas.

（巴爾干地區(qū)呈現(xiàn)出崎嶇而支離破碎的景觀，大致分為兩個區(qū)域：沿海和河流平原（色雷斯、色薩利和南多瑙河地區(qū)），生產(chǎn)力高且人口稠密；以及主導(dǎo)整個地區(qū)并占其面積約三分之二的山脈 - 西部的迪那利克阿爾卑斯山脈，從東北向西南延伸；它們與南邊的品都斯山脈合并，共同統(tǒng)治著希臘的西部和中部；和巴爾干鏈本身，從摩拉瓦河一直延伸到黑海沿岸，羅多彼山脈向南形成一個弧形，穿過馬其頓到達色雷斯平原。支離破碎的地形產(chǎn)生了一系列不同的地緣政治單元，由高地山脊分隔，沿著河谷向沿海地區(qū)呈扇形散開。）

????????? Geography affected land use in the Balkans as it did in Asia Minor. The uplands and mountains, dominated by forest and woodland, and the lower foothills by woodland, scrub and rough pasturage, were suited to pastoral activity only. Agriculture was limited to the plains, river valleys and coastlands of Thessaly, Macedonia and the Danube. The sea played an important role, since it surrounds the Balkan peninsula apart from along the northern boundary, and acted, as it still does today, as an efficient means of communication along the heavily indented coastline and with more distant regions. The disadvantage of relatively easy seaborne access, however, was that it opened up the southern Balkan peninsula to invasion.

（地理影響了巴爾干地區(qū)的土地利用，就像在小亞細亞一樣。以森林和林地為主的高地和山地，以及以林地、灌叢和草場為主的低山麓，只適合牧民活動。農(nóng)業(yè)僅限于色薩利、馬其頓和多瑙河的平原、河谷和沿海地區(qū)。海洋發(fā)揮了重要作用，因為它除了北部邊界外還環(huán)繞著巴爾干半島，并且像今天一樣，作為沿著嚴(yán)重縮進的海岸線和更遠地區(qū)的有效通信手段。然而，相對容易的海上通道的缺點是，它打開了巴爾干半島南部的入侵道路。）

????????? One of the factors that made the Roman army so successful and efficient was the military road system, established for the most part between the end of the 2nd century BC and the middle of the 2nd century All. The network also facilitated commerce, civilian traffic and the movement of information. But in the later 4th and 5th centuries the roads went into decline — a reflection of economic and social changes across the empire and the consequences of these for local governors and town councils. One result was a decline in the use of wheeled vehicles, which could not use roads that were not properly maintained, and a corresponding increase in dependence on beasts of burden.

（使羅馬軍隊如此成功和高效的因素之一是軍事道路系統(tǒng)，其大部分建立于公元前2世紀(jì)末至公元2世紀(jì)中期。該網(wǎng)絡(luò)還促進了商業(yè)、民用交通和信息流動。但在4世紀(jì)和5世紀(jì)后期，這些道路開始衰落——這反映了整個帝國的經(jīng)濟和社會變化以及這些變化對地方長官和鎮(zhèn)議會的影響。其結(jié)果是輪式車輛的使用減少了，這些車輛不能使用沒有得到妥善維護的道路，因此對馱畜的依賴也相應(yīng)增加了。）

????????? After the 6th century a limited number of key routes was kept up by means of compulsory burdens imposed on local communities. The fast post, consisting of pack-animals, relay horses and light carts, and the slow post, which provided ox-carts and heavy vehicles, were amalgamated into a single system in the 6th or 7th century, and continued to operate until the last years of the empire. The imperial road systems in both the Balkans and Anatolia were less extensive than hitherto, but remained nevertheless effective. But the costs of maintenance and the problem of supervising upkeep meant that many routes were hardly more than tracks or paths usable only by pack-animals, with paved or hard surfaces only near towns and fortresses. Travel and transport by water was usually faster and much cheaper. This was especially so in the case of the long-distance movement of bulk goods, such as grain, for example. The expense of feeding draught-oxen, drovers and carters, paying tolls, together with the slow rate of movement of ox-carts, added very considerably to the price of the goods being transported, generally well beyond the price of ordinary subjects of the emperors. It was really only the government and the army, and to a certain extent the Church and a few wealthy individuals, who could pay for this. In contrast, shipping was much more cost effective, since large quantities of goods could be transported in a single vessel, handled by a small crew, relatively inexpensively, once the capital investment in vessel and cargo had been made.

（6世紀(jì)后，帝國通過對當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)施加強制性負(fù)擔(dān)的方式，保留了數(shù)量有限的關(guān)鍵路線。由馱畜、接力馬和輕車組成的快崗和提供牛車和重型車輛的慢崗在6世紀(jì)或7世紀(jì)合并為一個系統(tǒng)，并一直持續(xù)到最后帝國的歲月。巴爾干地區(qū)和安納托利亞地區(qū)的帝國道路系統(tǒng)雖然沒有以前那么廣泛，但仍然有效。但是維護成本和監(jiān)督維護問題意味著許多路線只不過是只能由群居動物使用的軌道或路徑，只有城鎮(zhèn)和堡壘附近才有鋪砌的或堅硬的表面。水路旅行和運輸通常更快、更便宜。 在大宗貨物（例如谷物）的長距離運輸中尤其如此。喂食牛、車夫和車夫的費用，支付通行費，加上牛車移動速度緩慢，大大增加了運輸貨物的價格，通常遠遠超過帝國普通臣民所能承擔(dān)的價格，實際上只有政府和軍隊，以及在一定程度上教會和少數(shù)富人才能為此買單。相比之下，航運的成本效益要高得多，因為一旦對船只和貨物進行資本投資，就可以在一艘船上運輸大量貨物，由少量船員處理，成本相對較低。）

????????? This was the physical world of the later Roman and medieval eastern Roman, or Byzantine, empire, and this was the context within which the politics, diplomacy, warfare and social evolution of Byzantine culture are to be understood. Geography and physical context were not the only factors: cultural assumptions — the 'thought world' of Byzantium, also partly determined the complex network of causes and effects, the results of which we call 'history'. But means of communication, speed of movement of people and information were key aspects on which the effectiveness of armies or the availability of resources to support a campaign might depend. Geography affected how the government worked, the amount of agricultural wealth that it could make available for specific purposes, the distribution and well-being of the population, rates of production and consumption, the availability of livestock, and so forth. And geographical factors were, of course, fundamental to warfare and the strategic organisation of the empire.

（這是后期羅馬帝國和中世紀(jì)東羅馬帝國，或拜占庭帝國的現(xiàn)實世界，這是拜占庭文化的政治，外交，戰(zhàn)爭和社會演變的背景。地理和物理環(huán)境并不是唯一的因素，文化假設(shè)——拜占庭的“思想世界”，也部分決定了原因和結(jié)果的復(fù)雜網(wǎng)絡(luò)，我們稱之為“歷史”。但是，通信手段、人員流動速度和信息是軍隊?wèi)?zhàn)斗力或支持戰(zhàn)役資源可用性的關(guān)鍵方面。地理影響了政府的運作方式，農(nóng)業(yè)財富的數(shù)量，它可以為特定的目的，人口的分布和福祉，生產(chǎn)和消費的速度，牲畜的可用性，等等。當(dāng)然，地理因素是戰(zhàn)爭和帝國戰(zhàn)略組織的基礎(chǔ)。）

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