Their towers however still stand amidst the ruins of Mesopotamia.
只有他们建造的高塔依然屹立在美索不达米亚的废墟之中。
The Jews saw them when they went into exile in the land of Babylon
犹太人在流浪途中经过巴比伦时，看见了这些宏伟的建筑，
and they called them towers of Bab-Illi, or towers of Babel(here is a picture of towers of Babel).
便把它们称为"巴别塔"（通天之塔）。
In the fortieth century before our era, the Sumerians had entered Mesopotamia.
苏美尔人于公元前40世纪进入美索不达米亚，
They were soon afterwards over-powered by the Akkadians, one of the many tribes from the desert of Arabia who speak a common dialect
不久后便为阿卡德人所征服。阿卡德人是阿拉伯沙漠中讲同样方言的诸多部落的一支，
and who are known as the"Semites," because in the olden days people believed them to be the direct descendants of Shem, one of the three sons of Noah.
这些部族被通称为"闪米特人"， 因为他们相信自己是挪亚3个儿子之一的"闪"的直系后商。
A thousand years later, the Akkadians were forced to submit to the rule of the Amorites,
又过了1000年，阿卡德人被迫臣服于另一个 闪米特沙漠部落阿莫赖特人的统治。
another Semitic desert tribe whose great King Hammurabi built himself a magnificent palace in the holy city of Babylon
阿莫赖特人拥有一位伟大的国王-一汉漠拉比。他在圣城巴比伦为自己建造了一座华丽的宫殿，
and who (here is a picture of the holy city of Babylon) gave his people a set of laws which made the Babylonian state the best administered empire of the ancient world.
并向其子民颁布了一套法律（汉漠拉比造典），使巴比伦成为古代世界管理最完善的帝国。
Next the Hittites, whom you will also meet in the Old Testament, overran the Fertile Valley and destroyed whatever they could not carry away.
接着，《旧约全书》曾记述过的赫梯人掠夺了这块富饶的河谷，他们把一切不能带走的东西通通摧毁。