The most important walls in western history aren't even in the West.
西方历史中最重要的城墙甚至不在西方
They surround the modern city of Istanbul, Constantinople as the Romans called it.
它们环绕着现代城市伊斯坦布尔，或者像罗马人称呼的，君士坦丁堡
And for a thousand years, the fate of Europe depended on them.
在一千年内，欧罗巴的命运取决于它
Constantinople was designed to be the center of the world.
君士坦丁堡被设计为世界的中心
When the frontiers of the Roman Empire began to crumble in the 4th Century,
当罗马帝国的边境在4世纪趋于崩溃时
the capital was moved to the cultured, wealthy, and still stable East.
首都迁到了文明、富有且依旧坚固的东方
There, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the hub of the major trade routes of the ancient world, the Emperor Constantine built his city.
在那里，在欧洲与亚洲的十字路口，古代世界主贸易路线的中心，康斯坦丁大帝建立了他的城市。
This was the city of libraries and universities, 20 times the size of London or Paris at the time.
这座城市布满了大学和图书馆，面积是当时的伦敦或巴黎的20倍大
It contained the priceless knowledge of the classical world which was fading in the West.
充满了无价的先人智慧，但它们正逐渐被西方世界遗忘。
To protect this masterpiece from its many enemies,
为了从众多敌人手中保护这个杰作
Constantine's successors built the finest defensive fortifications ever made.
康斯坦丁的继任者们建立了有史以来最好的防御工事
The first line of protection was a moat 60 feet wide and 22 feet deep, stretching all four miles from coast to coast.
第一道防线是60尺宽22尺深的护城河，从南海岸到北海岸延伸了四公里长
Pipes from inside the city could fill it at the first sight of the enemy,
连接到城内的管线使得第一眼看到敌人时就可以填满它。
and a short wall protected archers who could fire at the soaked soldiers trying to swim across.
还有一座矮墙掩护弓箭手，他们可以攻击尝试因渡河而一身湿的敌人。
Those who were lucky enough to clear the moat had to contend with an unceasing barrage from the 27 foot outer wall above.
那些可以幸运突破护城河的人，还要面临27英尺高的外墙射下来的枪林弹雨。
Arrows, spears, or far worse, Greek fire -- an ancient form of napalm that would ignite on contact
箭如雨下：有弓箭、长矛、或是更可怕的希腊火--那是古代版本的汽油弹，它一触即发，
and couldn't be extinguished by water -- would rain down on them.
而且无法被水扑灭--会流到它们的下面
Squads of Roman defenders would carry portable flame throwers, spraying anyone trying to climb out of the moat.
罗马的防御者会带着携带式火焰投掷器，喷向所有试着要爬出护城河的人。
The terrified victims would leap back, only to find that they still burned underwater.
被吓着的敌人可能会跳回河里，却只发现在水里火依旧在燃烧。

At times, the Romans would also mount siphons onto the ramparts,
有时，罗马人会在堡垒上装置虹吸管
and launch clay pots full of Greek fire from catapults at an invading army.
或是用投石机对进犯的敌军投出装满希腊火的陶罐。
The front lines would turn into an inferno, making it appear as if the earth itself was on fire.
前线会成为地狱，像大地自己在着火
If, by some miracle, the outer wall was compromised, attackers would be faced with the final defense: the great inner wall.
如果出现了什么奇迹，外墙失守，侵略者将会面对终极防御：巨型内墙。
These walls were wide enough to have four men ride side by side, allowing troops to be rushed wherever they were needed.
这些城墙宽到足以容纳四个人肩并肩行走，这使得部队可以迅速移动到任何紧急的地方。
Attilla the Hun, destroyer of civilizations, who named himself the Scourge of God, took one look at them and turned around.
文明的破坏者、自称上帝之鞭的阿提拉人，看着这面墙一会儿，然后就掉头走了。
The Avars battled the walls uselessly til their catapults ran out of rocks.
阿瓦尔人使用投石机打到石头没了，却没有成功。
The Turks tried to tunnel under them, but found the foundations too solid.
土耳其人想要在下面打地道，却发现地基过于牢固。
The Arabs tried to starve the city into submission, but ran out of food themselves and had to resort to cannibalism.
阿拉伯人试着要把城内饿到投降，自己却断粮而不得不食人为生
It took the guns of the modern world to finally bring them down.
现代世界的枪炮才最终将其摧毁
In 1453, the Turks brought their super weapon: a monster cannon that could fire a 15 hundred pound stone ball over a mile.
在1453年，土耳其人带来了他们的超级武器：可以点燃一千五百磅重的石块，并射出一英里的巨炮。
Together with more than a hundred smaller guns, they kept up a steady bombardment day and night.
配上上百座小型炮，他们没日没夜地轰炸。
A section of the old walls collapsed, but even in their death throes they proved formidable.
一段旧城墙倒塌了，但即使在毁灭中，它们也证明了自己的强大
The rubble absorbed the shock of the cannonballs better than the solid wall.
这些碎石堆比起坚固的墙，更能吸收大炮的冲击。
It took a month and a half of continuous blasting to finally open a breach.
炸开一个缺口最终花费了持续一个半月的时间
The last Roman Emperor, Constantine the 11th, drew his sword and jumped into the gap to stop the onrushing horde, disappearing into legend.
最后一位罗马国王，康斯坦丁十一世，提剑跃进壕沟，想要阻止冲来的人群，最终消失于传说之中。
The city was taken, and the Roman Empire finally disappeared. But those broken walls had one last gift.
城市被占领了，罗马帝国最终灭亡了。但那些破碎的城墙留下了最后的礼物
As the survivors fled the doomed city, they brought with them their precious books and their ancient traditions.
当幸存者逃离了注定灭亡的城市时，他们带走了他们宝贵的书籍和古老的传统。
They traveled west to Italy, reintroduced the Greek language and learning to western Europe, and ignited the Renaissance.
他们向西流浪到意大利，将希腊语和学问重新介绍给西欧，并点燃了文艺复兴。
Thanks to Constantinople's walls, that pile of brick and marble that guarded them for so long,we still have our classical past.
感谢君士坦丁堡的城墙，那些守护他们许久的砖石堆，也让我们仍旧拥有古代人的智慧。