Ten Minute History - Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire (Short Documentary) · History Matters
本片讲述成吉思汗如何从部落领袖成长为蒙古帝国的开创者。适合练习历史、文化及成长类词汇，了解蒙古帝国的形成与扩张。
1167 and the tribes of the steppe, roughly here, are fighting.
1167年，位于这片区域的草原部落之间爆发了战争。
Conflict here was limited in scale and waged between small groups of nomadic warriors who were fighting for the region's limited resources.
这里的冲突规模较小，主要发生在一些游牧战士的小团体之间；这些战士为争夺该地区有限的资源而相互争斗。
There were many tribes but the most important ones were the Tatars, the Kerryids and of course the Mongols.
当时有许多部落，其中最重要的有鞑靼人、克雷里德人，当然还有蒙古人。
These tribes had no formal written languages or complex hierarchy simply because they didn't need them.
这些部落没有正式的书面语言，也没有复杂的等级制度——因为他们根本不需要这些东西。
They were run by Chieftons whose position was inherited and it was their role to keep the peace and lead the warriors into battle.
这些部落由酋长们统治，酋长的职位是世袭的；他们的职责是维护和平，并带领战士们投入战斗。
The tribes of the steppe had many different religions ranging from Christianity to Buddhism but the Mongols were Tengriists.
草原上的各个部落信奉多种不同的宗教，从基督教到佛教都有；而蒙古人则信仰腾格里教（Tengriism）。
Tengriism was very much linked with the nomadic nature of Mongol life.
腾格里教与蒙古人的游牧生活方式紧密相连。
For example, there were no fixed religious buildings like in China or Europe in which Mongols would worship the Supreme God,
例如，蒙古人并没有像在中国或欧洲那样固定的宗教建筑来供奉至高无上的神明。
Tengri, who was the god of the sky.
腾格里（Tengri）是天空之神。
The Mongol religious leaders were shamans called
蒙古族的宗教领袖被称为“萨满”（shamans）。
Becky who would communicate with the dead
贝基——那个能够与死者交流的人
on behalf of the living and all secure ailments or at least they would attempt to because medicine back then was frankly pants.
他们代表那些仍然活着的人，以及那些患有各种疾病的人；至少他们会尝试治疗这些疾病。毕竟，当时的医学水平实在非常落后（或者说相当糟糕）。
So the late 12th century was a period of great change for the people of the steppe.
12世纪末期，对于草原上的居民来说是一个充满巨大变化的时期。
For a start, the climate was much milder meaning that there was more food for their livestock and thus for them.
首先，当时的气候要温和得多，这意味着他们的牲畜有更多的食物可吃，进而他们自己也能获得更多的食物。
You'd think that more food would mean that there'd be less raiding but fun fact, no.
你可能会认为：食物供应充足的话，掠夺行为就会减少。但事实上并非如此。
It actually meant that herding duties could be left to the women and thus more men could be spared for other things like war.
实际上，这意味着放牧的工作可以由女性来承担，这样就可以有更多的男性被派去从事其他任务，比如打仗。
The winner of these Internomadic fights would
这些“游牧式战斗”的获胜者将会……
absorb the losing tribe which made governing
吞并那个处于劣势（或失败状态）的部落，从而便于进行统治。
more complicated but importantly saw the power of individual chieftains grow considerably up until the turn of the 13th century.
情况变得更加复杂，但重要的是：在13世纪之前，各个部落首领的权力显著增强。
Of course, no chief would grow as great as the certain Chingas, better known in the west as Genghis although his birth name was Temogen.
当然，没有哪位首领能像成吉思汗（在西方更为人熟知的名字）那样伟大；尽管他的本名是铁木真（Temugen）。
Temogen was the son of a Mongol noble who was poisoned by the tatars and whose followers promptly abandoned him.
特莫根（Temogen）是一位蒙古贵族的儿子。他的父亲被鞑靼人毒死，他的追随者们随即抛弃了他。
Over many years he built up a reputation as a skilled leader and built many enduring friendships.
多年来，他树立了自己作为一位善于领导的专家的声誉，并建立了许多持久的朋友关系。
After later rescuing his kidnapped wife Genghis and the Mongols teamed up with the chariots to destroy the tatars.
在后来成功解救了被绑架的妻子之后，成吉思汗率领蒙古军队与那些使用战车的敌人联手，共同消灭了鞑靼人。
After his victory, Temogen then took the title Khan meaning ruler.
在取得胜利后，特莫根（Temogen）自封为“可汗”（Khan），这一头衔象征着统治者的地位。
So now the Mongols and the chariots
那么现在，蒙古人和他们的战车……
were the dominant powers in the region and as a result they immediately became enemies and so those other guys had to die.
它们是该地区的主导力量，因此立刻成为了彼此的敌人；那些其他势力自然也就不得不被消灭了。
Temogen and his Mongols were victorious and destroyed the chariots before mopping up and assimilating the other nomadic groups in the area.
特莫根和他的蒙古军队取得了胜利，他们首先摧毁了那些敌军的战车，随后又消灭并吞并了该地区的其他游牧部落。
This was all done by 1206 when the leaders of the now quite large Mongols met at what is called a kurultai.
这一切都发生在 1206 年：当时，已经发展成一支庞大军队的蒙古人的领袖们齐聚一堂，举行了一场被称为“库鲁台”（kurultai）的会议。
Here Temogen was elected as the Kagan meaning the Great Khan or the Khan of Khans.
在这里，特莫根被选为“卡甘”（Kagan），意为“伟大的可汗”或“所有可汗中的首领”。
He also took the title Chingas Khan meaning fierce ruler and so began the Mongol Empire.
他还获得了“成吉思汗”这一称号，意为“勇猛的统治者”；由此，蒙古帝国正式诞生了。
Side note, we're going to call him Genghis instead of Chingis in this episode because most people in the west know him as that.
顺便提一下，在这一集中我们会称他为“成吉思”（Genghis），而不是“钦吉斯”（Chingis），因为西方大多数人都是这么称呼他的。
So now that Genghis and the Mongols were dominant in the region, there were two options.
既然成吉思汗和蒙古人已经在该地区占据了主导地位，那么就只有两个选择。
Settle and live the rest of their lives in peace or conquer literally everything.
要么安定下来，余生过上平静的生活；要么真正征服一切。
Shockingly Genghis opted for the latter and turned his gaze south to China.
令人震惊的是，成吉思汗选择了后者，并将目光转向了南方的中国。
It used to be entirely ruled by the Song dynasty but at this point it was split into three states.
这片地区过去完全由宋朝统治，但如今已经分裂成了三个独立的国家。
The Song still ruled in the south,
宋朝的统治仍然在南方延续着。
the north was ruled by the Jin and in the north west lay the kingdom of western Jia whom Genghis chose as his first target.
北方由金朝统治；而在西北部，则存在着西夏王国。成吉思汗将西夏王国作为自己的第一个攻击目标。
By 1209 Western Jia had submitted to Genghis after he flooded the fields around its capital and ruined its crops.
1209年，西夏在成吉思汗淹没其首都周围的农田、摧毁当地农作物后，最终被迫向成吉思汗投降。
It was now time to take on
现在是时候采取行动了。
the Jin who were a much more powerful foe and they even had some large walls to keep the Mongols out.
金朝是一个实力更为强大的敌人；他们甚至修建了高大的城墙来阻挡蒙古人的进攻。