视听文本

He was born a poor Serbian boy who thought the Roman army would be a great place to start.
他有着贫穷的塞尔维亚人出身，认为加入罗马军队是个良好的起点。
He rose through the ranks and like many generals before him he found himself proclaimed as imperator by his troops.
他一级一级地爬到将军的位置,然后发现自己被军队拥为了元首。
Despite his low birth and lack of education he knew the Roman Empire's political, military and economic ills.
尽管他出身微贱，也没有受过教育，但是他清楚罗马帝国的政治，军事和经济弊端。
He took bold steps to address them and the first casualty was the principate itself.
他大胆地采取行动来解决这些问题，首当其冲的就是元首制。
The ruler of the world's largest empire could no longer even pretend to be like Bubbacus or Jethra in their 6th story apartments.
这个世界上最大帝国的统治者不用再假装什么民主平等了。

Diocletian was the first Roman emperor to discard entirely the pretense that Rome was still a republic.
戴克里先将罗马共和国的外表完全剥去，
Diocletian insisted on being addressed as dominus et deius, god and master.
坚持要别人称呼他为上帝，神灵，主人。
He insisted upon being treated accordingly complete with a new imperial ritual, largely borrowed from the Persians.
他坚持要得到一种全新的礼制对待，这种礼制主要是从波斯借用过来的。
Three centuries earlier Augustus would welcome common Romans to his humble house on the Palatine
三百多年前，奥古斯都大帝会欢迎平民百姓到他的王宫陋室中做客，
dressed in clothes hand made by his wife Olivia,
自己穿着妻子奥利维亚亲手缝制的衣服，
but those were different times, now the god and master Diocletian required visitors to crawl into his palace
但是今非昔比，如今的神帝戴克里先要求访客匍匐爬进宫殿，
and prostrate themselves before they could kiss the hem of the lord and master's gown.
拜倒在他们的主人，他们的上帝脚下。
No part of Rome's government escaped Diocletian's attention. His every word was an unbreakable law,
罗马政府中没有哪方面能逃过戴克里先的注意，他的每一句话都是不可违背的法律。
if you disobeyed him or thought of disobeying him or thought of disliking him you were in big trouble.
如果你违背了或是想要违抗，或者不喜欢他，你就会招惹很大的麻烦。
Diocletian's reform of the Roman government was as totalitarian as could be.
戴克里先对于政府的改革是极其极权主义的。
Thereby well earning this age its name of the Dominate.
也因此这个时期才被称为主宰。
Diocltian's most important administrative reform was the Tetrarchy,
戴克里先最重要的行政改革就是四帝共治制，
which divided power between two senior emperors called Augustii and two assistant emperors called Caesars.
任命两位主皇帝和两位凯撒，
Bringing the grand total to four. One Augustus ruled the western empire and one Augustus ruled the eastern empire.
四位皇帝各自统治四分之一的帝国。一位主皇帝统治西部帝国，另一位主皇帝统治东部帝国。
Each Augustus was assisted by his own personal Caesar, the Caesar was also the, Augustus' adopted son and designated successor.
每位主皇帝各有一位凯撒，凯撒也是主皇帝的养子和未来继承人。

视频及简介

课程介绍:

本课程对罗马帝国和前苏联的兴衰进行回顾，探讨它们历史变迁的内在规律，并将现代的超级大国——美国与它们进行比较，从而作出对未来可能的一些预测。

原声视频：