十位農民出身的統治者(1)
When fate hasn't dealt you the best hand in life, it's easier to complain than to work change it. But throughout history, there have been people who just grab the whole deck for themselves, rising from those humble beginnings to seize more power than anyone could have ever thought possible. As we're about to tell you, sometimes even the lowliest peasants can rise to the highest stations.
當命運之神不曾眷顧你的時候，是選擇抱怨還是努力改變現狀？前者似乎更容易一些。然而縱觀歷史，不乏拼盡全力與命運抗爭之輩，他們出身卑微，卻最終達到一般人無法企及的權力巔峯。正如我們將在本文中爲你講述的，即使是地位最低下的農民，也可以登上權力金字塔的頂端。erine I – Russia
10.葉卡捷琳娜一世——俄羅斯
Catherine was born in 1684 to a peasant family, and orphaned just three years later when both parents died from the plague. She was raised by a pastor in Latvia until she was 17, when the Russians invaded and took her captive. Catherine proved to be one of the more valuable acquisitions of the conquest, and thanks to her good looks was passed around as a favor in the court, eventually being given to Peter the Great in 1705.
1684年，葉卡捷琳娜出生於一個農民家庭，三歲時父母死於瘟疫，成爲孤兒。隨後，拉脫維亞(Latvia)的一位牧師收養了她，直到17歲那年俄軍入侵，她被俘虜。日後的故事表明這位傳奇女子是非常有價值的戰利品，因爲相貌出衆，她在宮廷裏被當作禮物幾經轉手，最終於1705年送到彼得大帝(Peter the Great)的身邊。
Somewhat unexpectedly, Peter and Catherine fell in love, and she even managed to save his empire in from the Turks in 1711, offering her jewels as a bribe and allowing the Russians to retreat rather than face annihilation. Their relationship was marred towards the end by Catherine's alleged affair with William Mons, but Peter had him executed and they were able to reconcile just before Peter's death. Catherine was his successor and, despite not really having any political ambition, became the first female emperor of Russia.
令人意想不到的是，彼得和葉卡捷琳娜竟然墜入愛河。1711年，彼得陷入土耳其軍隊的重圍（譯註：1711年俄土戰爭，彼得一世親征普魯特河），葉卡捷琳娜用珠寶賄賂敵軍，幫他突圍保住皇位，並令俄軍撤退，使其免遭殲滅。葉卡捷琳娜和威廉·蒙斯(William Mons)有婚外情的傳聞，險些導致她和彼得關係破裂，但是最後彼得處死威廉，並在自己死前與葉卡捷琳娜重修舊好。葉卡捷琳娜一世成爲彼得一世的繼任者，雖然她並沒有什麼政治抱負，但卻成爲俄羅斯歷史上第一位女皇。in I – Byzantium
9.查士丁一世——拜占庭
Justin was born in 453 AD and began life as a simple swineherd, enduring poverty and barbarian raids at an early age. At 20 years old he set off on a journey to Constantinople to seek his fortune. He joined the corps of 300, and quickly rose to a position of command. With military power came political power, and he was given the title of Count.
查士丁出生於公元453年，早年以養豬爲生，生活困頓,常遭野蠻劫掠。20歲那年，他離家前往君士坦丁堡謀生。隨後加入一支300人的軍隊，很快就晉升爲指揮官。查士丁依靠其軍事能力得到政治權力，並被授予伯爵封號。Emperor Anastasius was childless, and when it came to naming his successor he chose to put his faith in God, saying that whoever came into his room next would become emperor. Rather than a member of his own family, however, it was Justin who entered his chambers and became the new emperor when Anastasius died. It was a position he never really wanted, and he made that clear to the Pope by writing to inform him he had been made emperor against his will. An unwilling, unprepared, and uneducated emperor, he ruled for nine years and proved that some men are born great, and others fall into power ass backwards.
阿納斯塔修斯一世(Emperor Anastasius)沒有子嗣，他把挑選繼任者這件事情交給上帝決斷，聲明下一個進入自己的房間的人將會成爲繼任皇帝。然而，阿納斯塔修斯去世之時，進入他寢宮的並非其親屬，而是查士丁。但查士丁根本不想成爲皇帝，還給教皇寫信，告訴他自己是被迫登上皇位的。就這樣，這位沒受過教育的皇帝在毫無準備、毫不情願的情況下執政9年。他的存在向世人證明：有的人生來尊貴，而有的人卻陰差陽錯獲得權利。letian – Rome
8.戴克裏先——羅馬
Diocletian was the son of a former slave, and was born around 245 AD. He embarked on a career in the army, and through a combination of military skill, ambition, and having the good fortune to be favored by the emperor Carus, Diocletian was able to rise to the rank of commander of the cavalry arm of the imperial bodyguard. When Carus was killed by a bolt of lightning, his sons Numerian and Carinus assumed control of the East and West empires respectively, but it wasn't long before Numerian died.
戴克裏先是一個奴隸的兒子，生於公元245年。他的傳奇人生從軍隊開始，由於他出色的軍事能力、遠大的抱負，以及受到羅馬帝國皇帝卡魯斯(Carus)的青睞，戴克裏先很快就當上了帝國保衛騎兵營的指揮官。在卡魯斯死於雷擊之後，他的兒子努梅里安(Numerian)和卡里努斯(Carinus)分別統治了東羅馬和西羅馬，但是沒過多久努梅里安就去世了。Diocletian won support by killing Aper, the man suspected of having a hand in Numerian's death, in front of all the troops, and was rewarded with the title of Emperor of the East. Carinus was none too pleased with his brother being succeeded by a bodyguard, and moved to meet Diocletian in battle. Unfortunately for Carinus, his unpopularity led to his own men killing him, and put Diocletian to assume control of the entire Roman empire.
當着所有軍隊，戴克裏先殺掉了被懷疑與努梅里安之死有關的艾派(Aper)，因此而獲得支持，並被擁戴成爲東羅馬帝國的皇帝。卡里努斯不滿自己哥哥的皇位被一個侍衛繼承，於是與戴克裏先兵戎相見。不幸的是，卡里努斯因爲不得人心，被自己的人所刺殺，從而使得戴克裏先統治了整個羅馬帝國。審稿:張茜 編輯:Freya然 校對:CMX
