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A job as proconsul or propraetor soon became
地方總督或地方長官的職務很快成為
regarded as just another perk of high political office.
高級政治官員的一種
Ruling a province for a year
統治一個省一年時間
was not just fun and profitable.
不僅有趣，還有利可圖
A lucky promagistrate might even get to start a war,
幸運的資深長官也許還能發動戰爭
add new land to the Roman Empire,
擴大羅馬帝國的領土
and win the glory of a Scipio Africanus.
也贏得西庇阿的榮耀
Indeed, Africanus's grandson later
事實上，西庇阿的孫子
earned the name Scipio of Numantia
之后獲得了努曼提亞的西庇阿的美名
for his outstanding generalship in Spain. Of course,
因為他在西班牙的領導非常出色
this new system of Roman provincial government
羅馬省級政府的新體系
offered nothing to the natives of the province,
并沒有為省內人帶來任何福利
but who cared what they thought anyway, right?
但是也沒有人在意他們的想法，對吧?
In the second century BC,
在公元前二世紀
Rome went over to the offensive
羅馬站在攻擊性強的一邊
and began building an empire in the east.
開始在東部建立帝國
The first target was Rome's old enemy
第一個目標就是羅馬的舊敵人
King Philip the Fifth of Macedon.
也就是馬其頓的菲利浦五世
When the second Macedonian War ended
當第二次馬其頓戰爭結束時
in one ninety sevenBC, all Greece was under Roman,
那是在公元前197年，希臘都在羅馬的統治之下
quote, unquote, influence,
受到羅馬的影響
if not under Rome's actual command.
更有可能是在羅馬的領導之下
At first Rome had hoped to maintain Greece
最初，羅馬想把希臘當作
as a buffer state or protectorate against
一個緩沖國或者領事
eastern enemies such as King Antiochus of Syria.
防止東部的敵人，如敘利亞的安條克國王
Two millennia later, the Soviet Union did
兩千年后，蘇聯做了同樣的事
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,
也建立了一些衛星州，在蘇聯與西歐之間，那也就是所謂的"鐵幕"
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.
戰勝方的統領Titus，莊嚴地宣布，他愿意給希臘自由，當然，但這種自由并不好，這些國家享有的自由并不好，這些國家位于鐵幕之后
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.
但希臘自由徒有其名，因為他們還必須向羅馬繳稅，他們還要貢獻出軍隊，在戰時向羅馬提供軍隊
This was exactly the same raw deal that many of Rome's Italian allies got.
這也同樣是不公平交易，許多羅馬的意大利同盟也受過這種不平等交易
It's no wonder that many Greeks chose not to play along with Rome. By one sixty seven BC,
無怪乎許多希臘人選擇不再與羅馬交好，在公元前167年之前
Macedon also had joined the list of Eastern Mediterranean powers rumphed by Rome.
馬基頓也成為其中一員，也成為受羅馬管理的地中海東部強國
It seemed to the Romans that even pretend freedom was too good for the Greeks.
對于羅馬似乎是對于希臘來說虛假的自由也很好
Between one forty eight and one forty six BC,
在公元前148至146年之間
all Greece was added to the Roman empire for all time. As a warning for those tempted to resist Rome's power,
希臘全部成為羅馬帝國的一部分。作為一種警示，那些要抵抗羅馬強力的國家
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.
希臘著名城市科林斯被夷為平地，打擊地中海東部地區的強國。事實上有助于羅馬的安全，第三次布匿戰爭中被摧毀的迦太基卻非如此。第三次戰爭從公元前149年延續到146年。在公元前151年之前，迦太基已經付清欠羅馬的債務，也再一次有更多的商業利益。
To Carthage's west, the kingdom of Numidia made an alliance with Rome and started raiding Carthaginian territory.
在迦太基的西邊，努米底亞王國與羅馬結盟，開始襲擊迦太基領土
