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A job as proconsul or propraetor soon became
地方总督或地方长官的职务很快成为
regarded as just another perk of high political office.
高级政治官员的一种
Ruling a province for a year
统治一个省一年时间
was not just fun and profitable.
不仅有趣，还有利可图
A lucky promagistrate might even get to start a war,
幸运的资深长官也许还能发动战争
add new land to the Roman Empire,
扩大罗马帝国的领土
and win the glory of a Scipio Africanus.
也赢得西庇阿的荣耀
Indeed, Africanus's grandson later
事实上，西庇阿的孙子
earned the name Scipio of Numantia
之后获得了努曼提亚的西庇阿的美名
for his outstanding generalship in Spain. Of course,
因为他在西班牙的领导非常出色
this new system of Roman provincial government
罗马省级政府的新体系
offered nothing to the natives of the province,
并没有为省内人带来任何福利
but who cared what they thought anyway, right?
但是也没有人在意他们的想法，对吧?
In the second century BC,
在公元前二世纪
Rome went over to the offensive
罗马站在攻击性强的一边
and began building an empire in the east.
开始在东部建立帝国
The first target was Rome's old enemy
第一个目标就是罗马的旧敌人
King Philip the Fifth of Macedon.
也就是马其顿的菲利浦五世
When the second Macedonian War ended
当第二次马其顿战争结束时
in one ninety sevenBC, all Greece was under Roman,
那是在公元前197年，希腊都在罗马的统治之下
quote, unquote, influence,
受到罗马的影响
if not under Rome's actual command.
更有可能是在罗马的领导之下
At first Rome had hoped to maintain Greece
最初，罗马想把希腊当作
as a buffer state or protectorate against
一个缓冲国或者领事
eastern enemies such as King Antiochus of Syria.
防止东部的敌人，如叙利亚的安条克国王
Two millennia later, the Soviet Union did
两千年后，苏联做了同样的事
the same thing by setting up a group of satellite states between themselves and Western Europe, the so-called Iron Curtain. In one ninety six BC,
也建立了一些卫星州，在苏联与西欧之间，那也就是所谓的"铁幕"
the conquering general Titus Quinctius Flamininus nobly announced that he would allow the Greeks their freedom. Of course, this freedom was hardly any better than the freedom enjoyed, quote, unquote, by the countries behind the Iron Curtain.
战胜方的统领Titus，庄严地宣布，他愿意给希腊自由，当然，但这种自由并不好，这些国家享有的自由并不好，这些国家位于铁幕之后
The Greeks freedom was in name only, because they still had to pay Roman taxes and they still had to contribute troops to the Roman army during wartime.
但希腊自由徒有其名，因为他们还必须向罗马缴税，他们还要贡献出军队，在战时向罗马提供军队
This was exactly the same raw deal that many of Rome's Italian allies got.
这也同样是不公平交易，许多罗马的意大利同盟也受过这种不平等交易
It's no wonder that many Greeks chose not to play along with Rome. By one sixty seven BC,
无怪乎许多希腊人选择不再与罗马交好，在公元前167年之前
Macedon also had joined the list of Eastern Mediterranean powers rumphed by Rome.
马基顿也成为其中一员，也成为受罗马管理的地中海东部强国
It seemed to the Romans that even pretend freedom was too good for the Greeks.
对于罗马似乎是对于希腊来说虚假的自由也很好
Between one forty eight and one forty six BC,
在公元前148至146年之间
all Greece was added to the Roman empire for all time. As a warning for those tempted to resist Rome's power,
希腊全部成为罗马帝国的一部分。作为一种警示，那些要抵抗罗马强力的国家
the famous old Greek city of Corinth was razed to the ground.Knocking off Eastern Mediterranean superpowers was in fact helpful to Roman security interests. Not so the destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War, which lasted from one forty nine to one forty six BC. By one fifty one BC, Carthage had paid off its debts to Rome and was becoming once more commercially viable.
希腊著名城市科林斯被夷为平地，打击地中海东部地区的强国。事实上有助于罗马的安全，第三次布匿战争中被摧毁的迦太基却非如此。第三次战争从公元前149年延续到146年。在公元前151年之前，迦太基已经付清欠罗马的债务，也再一次有更多的商业利益。
To Carthage's west, the kingdom of Numidia made an alliance with Rome and started raiding Carthaginian territory.
在迦太基的西边，努米底亚王国与罗马结盟，开始袭击迦太基领土
