The camel caravans which crossed the great dunes of the Sahara Desert began in antiquity but reached their golden period from the 9th century CE onwards. In their heyday caravans consisted of thousands of camels travelling from North Africa, across the desert to the savannah region in the south and back again, in a hazardous journey that could take several months. Stopping along the way at vital oases, the caravans were largely controlled by the Berbers who acted as middlemen in the exchange of such desired commodities as salt, gold, copper, hides, horses, slaves, and luxury goods. The trans-Saharan trade brought with it ideas in art, architecture, and religion, transforming many aspects of daily life in the towns and cities of a hitherto isolated part of Africa.

? ? ? ? ? 穿越撒哈拉大沙漠的駱駝商隊始于古代，但從公元9世紀起逐漸達到黃金時期。在全盛時期，商隊由成千上萬的駱駝組成，從北非出發(fā)，穿過沙漠到南部的大草原地區(qū)，然后再返回，這個充滿危險的旅程可能需要幾個月的時間。商隊沿途在重要的綠洲停留，這些綠洲主要由柏柏爾人控制，他們在鹽、金、銅、皮、馬、奴隸和奢侈品等商品的交換中充當中間人?？缛龉Q易帶來了藝術、建筑和宗教方面的思想交融，改變了當時非洲與世隔絕的地區(qū)的城鎮(zhèn)日常生活的許多方面。

駱? ? ?駝

Although North Africa had once possessed a camelid animal, the Camelus thomazi, this had become extinct during the Stone Age. The dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), the one with a single hump, was perhaps introduced from Arabia into Egypt in the 9th century BCE and in the rest of North Africa not before the 5th century BCE (although the precise dates are disputed amongst historians). Camels still did not become common, though, until the 4th century CE. Caravans of horses and donkeys had crossed parts of the Sahara in antiquity but it was the hardy camel which allowed ancient peoples to carry more goods across the inhospitable Sahara and do it faster, reducing both costs and risks. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History has the following summary regarding the advantages of camels as transport:

? ? ? ? ? The value of the camel is not only confined to its high adaptation to severe desert conditions and its regulation of heat and water via its sweat glands: its ability for long-distance travel of about 48 km per day and its high carrying capacity (240 kg) make it a “ship of the desert,” in comparison with the load capacity of horses, donkeys, and mules at roughly 60 kg. Indeed, the camel's life span of 50 years surpasses that of the donkey (30-40 years) and the horse (25-30 years). (1281)

???????? 盡管北非曾經擁有一種駱駝類動物，即Camelus thomazi，但在石器時代（更新世中早期）就已經滅絕了。單峰駱駝（Camelus dromedarius），即有一個駝峰的駱駝，可能在公元前9世紀從阿拉伯引入埃及，并在公元前5世紀之前引入北非其他地區(qū)（盡管歷史學家之間對準確日期仍有爭議）。不過，直到公元4世紀，駱駝仍然沒有達到普及程度。在古代，馬匹和驢子的商隊曾穿過撒哈拉的部分地區(qū)，但正是駱駝的堅韌性，使古代人能夠攜帶更多的貨物穿越荒涼的撒哈拉，而且速度更快，這減少了成本和風險?！豆糯鷼v史百科全書》對駱駝作為交通工具的優(yōu)勢有如下總結：

? ? ? ? ? 駱駝的價值不僅限于它對嚴峻沙漠條件的高度適應性，它通過汗腺對熱量和水的調節(jié)：每天約48公里的長途旅行能力和高承載力（240公斤）使它成為“沙漠之船”，而馬、驢和騾子的承載力大約為60公斤。事實上，駱駝的壽命為50年，超過了驢子（30-40年）和馬（25-30年）的壽命。(1281)

From the 8th century CE, the Moroccans were successfully breeding camels on a huge scale and they even created a cross-breed between the dromedary camel and the two-humped Bactrian camel of Asia (Camelus bactrianus). The result of these experiments produced two variants of dromedaries: a sleek, fast-running camel useful for messenger services and a heavier, slower camel that could carry more weight than the pure dromedary.

? ? ? ? ? 從公元8世紀開始，摩洛哥人成功地大規(guī)模繁殖駱駝，他們甚至創(chuàng)造了單峰駱駝和亞洲雙峰駱駝（Camelus bactrianus）的雜交品種。這些實驗結果產生了兩種單峰駱駝的變種：一種是毛皮光滑的、能夠快速奔跑的、對信使服務有用的駱駝；另一種是比純種單峰駱駝還重、速度更慢的駱駝，但它可以承載更多的貨物。

古代的商隊

Long before the great trans-Saharan caravans of the medieval period, there was a more localised trade between nomadic desert peoples and the tribes of the savannah region south of the Sahara, often called the Sudan region. Rock salt from the Sahara itself, which was badly needed in the salt-impoverished savannah, was exchanged for cereals (e.g. rice, sorghum, and millet), which could not be grown in the desert.

? ? ? ? ? 早在中世紀出現(xiàn)龐大的跨撒哈拉商隊之前，沙漠游牧民族與撒哈拉以南的大草原地區(qū)（通常稱為蘇丹地區(qū)）的部落之間就存在著貿易。來自撒哈拉本身的巖鹽，在鹽分貧乏的大草原上是生活必需品，它被用來交換谷物（如大米、高粱和小米），這些谷物在沙漠中是無法種植的。

The Greek historian Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE (Histories, Bk 4. 181-5), noted a camel caravan route which went from Thebes in Egypt to Niger (although Memphis is more likely to have been the starting point). The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) noted in his Natural History (5.35-8) that the caravans were managed by the Garamantes, probably ancient Berbers, who lived south of Libya. The Garamantes, in control of the date-palmed oases at Fezzan, acted as middlemen between the peoples of North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. This arrangement would continue throughout the history of trans-Saharan commerce because those who controlled the desert, who knew the secrets of meeting its formidable challenges, also controlled the trade.

? ? ? ? ? 希臘歷史學家希羅多德在公元前5世紀記載道（《歷史》第4章第181-5節(jié)），他注意到一條從埃及底比斯到尼日爾的駱駝商隊路線（盡管孟菲斯更可能是起點）。羅馬作家老普林尼（公元23-79年）在他的《自然史》（5.35-8）中指出，這些商隊由加拉曼特人（他們很可能是來自撒哈拉沙漠的鐵器時代柏柏爾部落的后裔）管理，他們可能是古代柏柏爾人，居住在利比亞南部。加拉曼特人控制著費贊的棗樹綠洲，在北非和撒哈拉以南非洲之間充當中間人。這種做法將貫穿整個跨撒哈拉商業(yè)史，因為那些控制沙漠的人，知道如何應對來自沙漠的巨大挑戰(zhàn)，也控制著該地區(qū)的貿易。

Roman Tripolitania (modern Libya) was supplied with gold, ivory, ebony, cedarwood, and exotic beasts destined for the circuses, while olive oil and luxury goods like fine ceramics, glassware, and cloth were sent south in the exchange. Further east, there were also camel caravans linking Darfur in northwest Sudan to Assiut on the Nile at least from the 1st century CE. Known as the Darb al-Arbein ('Road of 40 Days') it brought ivory and elephants from Africa's interior and thrived into Late Antiquity.

? ? ? ? ? 羅馬的黎波里塔尼亞（現(xiàn)代利比亞）為馬戲團提供黃金、象牙、烏木、雪松木和異國野獸；而橄欖油和奢侈品，如精美的陶瓷、玻璃器皿和布匹也會被賣到南方。再往東，至少從公元1世紀開始，還有駱駝商隊將蘇丹西北部的達爾富爾與尼羅河畔的阿西特連接起來。它被稱為Darb al-Arbein（“40天之路”，是南北跨撒哈拉大貿易路線中的最東端，通過一連串的綠洲將貿易商品，牲畜和奴隸從非洲內陸運輸?shù)侥崃_河畔，然后再運送到尼羅河的其他地方），從非洲內陸帶來了象牙和大象，這條貿易線一直繁榮到古代晚期。

跨越撒哈拉的貿易路線

The really large camel caravans that travelled the minimum 1000 kilometres (620 miles) to cross the entire Sahara Desert really took off from the 8th century CE with the rise of Islamic North African states and such empires as the Ghana Empire of the Sudan region (6th-13th century CE). Routes would shift over the centuries like the sand dunes of the desert as empires rose and fell either side of the Sahara and as new resources were discovered that could be exploited in the trade that never ceased.

? ? ? ? ? 從公元8世紀開始，隨著北非伊斯蘭國家和蘇丹地區(qū)的加納帝國（公元6-13世紀）等帝國的崛起，真正的大型駱駝商隊開始行走至少1000公里（620英里），穿越整個撒哈拉沙漠。幾個世紀以來，隨著各個帝國在撒哈拉沙漠兩側的興衰，以及在從未停止的貿易中重新發(fā)現(xiàn)了可以利用的新資源，貿易路線會像沙漠中的沙丘一樣不斷發(fā)生變化。

The first route seems to have been between Wadi Draa (southern Morocco) and the Ghana Empire (southern Mali) in the mid-8th century CE and passed through an area of the Sahara controlled by the Sanhaja Berbers. Within 50 years two more major routes had been established which passed through Saharan territory controlled by the Tuareg, an offshoot of the Sanhaja. These were from western Algeria to the Songhai kingdom on the bend of the Niger River and from Libya to Lake Chad (a route blessed by many small oases and a very large one, Kawar). In the mid-11th century CE, a major route went between the Almoravid towns of Sijilmasa north of the Sahara and Awdaghost in the south. In the next century, with the rise of the Almohads in North Africa, Walata would replace Awdaghost at the southern end of the route. Walata was further to the east and so in a better position to act as a collecting point following the discovery of new gold fields. Gao and Timbuktu on the Niger River were also now attracting enough trade to be an end destination for caravans setting off from what is today Tunisia and southern Algeria. The great North African cities of Marrakesh, Fez, Tunis, and Cairo were all important starting or destination points for the trans-Saharan caravans.

? ? ? ? ? 第一條路線似乎是在公元8世紀中葉在瓦迪德拉（摩洛哥南部）和加納帝國（馬里南部）之間建立的，并通過了由桑哈賈柏柏爾人控制的撒哈拉地區(qū)。在50年內，又有兩條主要路線被建立起來，穿過由桑哈賈部落的一個分支圖阿雷格人控制的撒哈拉領土。這兩條路線是從阿爾及利亞西部到尼日爾河畔的桑海王國（15至16世紀時統(tǒng)治西薩赫勒地區(qū)的國家，桑海為西非歷史上黑人原住民最后的帝國），以及從利比亞到乍得湖（這條路線上有許多小綠洲和一個很大的綠洲，即卡瓦爾）。在公元11世紀中葉，一條主要的貿易路線出現(xiàn)在撒哈拉以北非錫吉勒馬薩的穆拉比特（又譯阿爾摩拉維德）城鎮(zhèn)和南部的Awdaghost之間。在12世紀，隨著阿爾摩拉維德王朝在北非的崛起，瓦拉塔將取代Awdaghost成為這條路線的最南端。瓦拉塔離東部更遠，因此在發(fā)現(xiàn)新的金礦后，這里成為一個集散點。尼日爾河上的加奧和廷巴克圖也吸引了商隊的眼球，成為從今天突尼斯和阿爾及利亞南部出發(fā)的商隊的最終目的地。馬拉喀什、摩洛哥非斯、突尼斯和開羅等北非大城市都是跨撒哈拉商隊的重要起點或目的地。

From around 1450 CE Portuguese ships were sailing down the Atlantic coast of Africa and offering an alternative to the trans-Saharan caravan routes. From 1471 CE, these ships were accessing the aptly-named Gold Coast in the south of West Africa. However, the rise of the Songhai Empire (1460 - c. 1591 CE) ensured that there was still a huge market and supply of goods for Saharan traders to exploit in the savannah region.

? ? ? ? ? 公元1450年左右，葡萄牙船只沿著非洲的大西洋海岸航行，為橫跨撒哈拉的商隊路線提供了一個替代方案。從公元1471年起，這些船只開始進入西非南部的黃金海岸——這個名字很恰當。然而，桑海帝國（1460-約1591年）的崛起確保了撒哈拉商人在大草原地區(qū)仍有巨大的市場。

在撒哈拉沙漠中旅行

A typical caravan could have 500 camels but some of the annual ones had up to 12,000 camels in them. These great caravans usually travelled in the best season for travel, winter. To avoid the heat of the midday sun, caravans typically set off at dawn to the call of horns and kettledrums, then rested in the shade of tents during the middle of the day, and moved on again in the late afternoon, continuing until well after dark.

? ? ? ? ? 一個典型的大篷車商隊可能帶有500頭駱駝，但一些年度大篷車商隊中的駱駝數(shù)量高達12,000頭。這些大篷車通常在旅行的最佳季節(jié)——冬季旅行。為了避開正午的烈日，大篷車通常在黎明時分在喇叭和小鼓的呼喚聲中出發(fā)，然后在中午時分，人們在帳篷的陰涼處休息，并在下午時分再次出發(fā)，一直到天黑。

The journey across the Sahara could take at least from 40 to 60 days, and it was only made possible by stopping at oases along the way, but even with these water stops, the journey was brutal and hazardous. That there were established routes, and that Arab medieval writers were so particular in mapping them, is strong evidence that any improvised deviation, the taking of shortcuts or the missing of the next oases through poor navigation or a sandstorm, was very likely to bring disaster. Other dangers included bandits, venomous snakes, scorpions, and the supernatural demons desert people often believed haunted certain parts of the Sahara.

? ? ? ? ? 穿越撒哈拉的旅程至少需要40至60天，而且需要在沿途的綠洲短暫停靠，但即使有這些補水點，旅程也是殘酷且危險的。當時有既定的貿易路線，而且阿拉伯中世紀作家對這些路線的繪制非常重視，這有力地證明了任何即興的偏離、走捷徑或因導航不當或沙暴而錯過下一個綠洲，都很可能帶來災難。其他危險包括土匪、毒蛇、蝎子和沙漠中的超自然惡魔，沙漠中的人們常常認為撒哈拉的某些地方有惡魔出沒。

The biggest problem, of course, was water. A person needs a minimum of one litre of water a day in the desert under optimum conditions but this would barely achieve survival. The typical consumption is 4.5 litres a day. Fortunately, camels need not drink anything at all for several days, although when they do reach a water source they drink prodigiously. The chief limit on a caravan, then, was how much water it could carry and how quickly it could get to the next water source along the route.

? ? ? ? ? ?當然，最大的問題是水。在最佳條件下，一個人在沙漠中每天至少需要飲用一升水，但這幾乎無法實現(xiàn)生存，通常的消耗量是每天4.5升。幸運的是，駱駝在幾天內根本不需要喝任何東西，盡管當它們到達水源時，它們喝得非常多。當時，對大篷車的主要限制是它能攜帶多少水，以及它能多快地到達沿途的下一個水源地。

As well as camel drivers and slaves to do the basic menial tasks, the caravan might have certain officials such as a scribe to record transactions, specialist guides for particular areas of the route, messengers, and an imam to lead daily prayers. Most important of all was the caravan leader, called the khabir, who exercised total authority en route. As with most positions of power, so too came grave responsibilities, and the khabir was liable for any losses and accidents (unless he could demonstrate he was not to blame for them). The historian H. J. Fisher describes the many qualities a good khabir needed:

He knew the desert routes and watering places, and he was able to find his way by the stars at night, or if need be by the scent and touch of the sand and vegetation. He had to understand the proper rules of desert hygiene, remedies against scorpions and snakes, how to heal sickness and mend fractures. He had to know the various chiefs of towns and tribes with which the caravan had to deal along the way, and in this respect a responsible khabir might consolidate his position by strategic marriages in several localities, or into several tribes. (Quoted in Fage, 267)

? ? ? ? ? 除了駱駝駕駛員和從事基本瑣事的奴隸外，商隊還可能有一些官員，如記錄交易的抄寫員、路線上特定區(qū)域的專業(yè)向導、信使和領導日常祈禱的阿訇。最重要的是商隊領袖，稱為Khabir，他在商隊旅途中行使全部權力。與大多數(shù)權力職位一樣，Khabir的責任也很重大，他要對任何損失和事故負責（除非他能證明自己沒有責任）。歷史學家H.J.Fisher描述了一個好Khabir所需要具備的品質：

? ? ? ? ? 他要知道沙漠中的路線和可靠的水源地，他能夠在晚上通過星星找到正確的路，如果需要的話，也可以通過沙子和植被的氣味和觸覺來尋找路線。他必須了解正確的沙漠衛(wèi)生規(guī)則，做好蝎子和蛇攻擊的補救措施，并指導如何治療一般疾病和骨折。他必須了解商隊沿途必須與之打交道的各個城鎮(zhèn)和部落的首領，在這方面，一個負責任的Khabir可能會通過在幾個地方或幾個部落的聯(lián)姻來鞏固自己的地位。(引自Fage, 267）。

Besides the stars and the smell of the sand and vegetation, a desert Berber, as today, used many other indicators of direction such as the height of the sun and moon, the lay of the land, mountains on the horizon, the shadows of the dunes, wind direction, the spray of sand blown from the peaks of dunes, ancient eroded gullies, the distribution of rocks and pebbles, the presence of mirages, and the position of camel dung, which is pointed in shape with the point always in the direction of the next water source.

? ? ? ? ? 除了星星和沙子及植被的氣味，沙漠中的柏柏爾人和今天一樣，也使用許多指示方向的指標，如太陽和月亮的高度、土地的布局、地平線上的山脈、沙丘的陰影、風向、從沙丘山頂吹來的沙霧、古代被侵蝕的溝壑、巖石和卵石的分布、海市蜃樓的存在，以及駱駝糞便的位置，駱駝糞便形狀是尖的，點總是在下一個水源的方向。

Carrying oneself across the desert, then, was certainly a challenge, guiding camels loaded down with slabs of rock salt was difficult enough, too, but if slaves were being transported, it became a voyage of attrition for everyone, as one 11th-century CE writer noted in his description of the problems of a caravan leader mid-journey:

? ? ? ? ? He was exhausted with his slave men and women. This woman had grown thin, this one was hungry, this one was sick, this one had run away, this one was afflicted by the guinea worm. When they encamped they had much to occupy him. (Quoted in Fage, 639)

? ? ? ? ? ?Khabir穿越沙漠對他自己來說當然是一種巨大的挑戰(zhàn)，引導滿載巖鹽的駱駝已經足夠困難了，但如果運送的是奴隸，那就成了每個人的消耗之旅，正如一位公元11世紀的作家，他在描述一個商隊領袖在旅途中的問題時指出：

? ? ? ? ? Khabir和他的男女奴隸們一起疲于奔命。這個女人瘦了，這個人餓了，這個人病了，這個人跑了，這個人被麥地那龍線蟲病折磨了。當他們安營扎寨的時候，他們有很多事物要Khabir來處理。(引自Fage, 639）。

Herodotus described caravans stopping every 10 days at a known oasis, the lifelines of the desert. Some of these oases could be mere wells and a few houses but others, like Awdila, the Fezzan group, and the Kufra group (all in Libya), were great spreads of luxuriant greenery, a sight indeed for sore desert traveller's eyes. Here there were date palms, lemon trees, and fig trees, as well as wheat and vines cultivated using irrigation canals. On the other hand, many oases over time simply disappeared under the shifting sands or their waters dried up and they were abandoned to the next sandstorm. Stopping for resupply at an oasis did not come for free either as the tribes that controlled them exacted a tax on the passage of goods through their territory. In order to ensure no outsiders muscled in on the lucrative management of the caravans, Saharan peoples would often cover the smaller desert wells with sand to hide them.

? ? ? ? ? ?希羅多德描述了商隊每10天在一個已知的綠洲停靠一次，綠洲是沙漠的生命線。其中一些綠洲可能只有水井和幾間房屋，但其他綠洲，如阿維迪拉、費贊群和庫夫拉群（都在利比亞），則是大片繁茂的綠色植物，這的確是沙漠旅行者眼中的美景。這里有棗樹、檸檬樹和無花果樹，以及利用灌溉渠種植的小麥和葡萄。另一方面，隨著時間的推移，許多綠洲在不斷變化的沙地上消失了，或者水干涸了，被遺棄在下一場沙暴中。在綠洲停留補給也不是免費的，因為控制綠洲的部落會對通過其領土的貨物征稅。為了確保沒有外人介入利潤豐厚的商隊管理，撒哈拉人往往會用沙子覆蓋沙漠中的小水井，以隱藏它們。

There were attempts to make the journey less inhospitable by increasing nature's meagre offerings along the way. Abd al-Rahman, the governor of Maghrib (r. 747-755 CE), ordered a series of wells to be dug on a route from southern Morocco to the Sudan region. Water was drawn up from such wells using camel-haired ropes and leather buckets, pulled by a camel walking away from the well in a straight line.

? ? ? ? ? ?人們曾試圖通過增加沿途大自然的微薄供給來使旅程不那么荒涼。馬格里布總督阿卜杜拉赫曼（Abd al-Rahman）（公元747-755年）下令在從摩洛哥南部到蘇丹地區(qū)的路上挖掘一系列的水井。人們用駱駝毛制成的繩索和皮桶從這些井中汲水，由駱駝拉著繩索從井邊沿著直線走，將水桶從井中提出。

貿易貨物

What exactly was worth all the bother of transporting over large distances very much depended on the particular rich elites in the north and south of the desert, something which changed not only because of tastes and fashion but also the rise and fall of states and their access to goods which could be exchanged.

? ? ? ? ? 究竟什么東西值得大老遠地運輸，在很大程度上取決于沙漠南北的特定富有的精英們，這不僅因為品味和時尚的不斷變化，也因為國家興衰和他們可以用于交換的貨物。

Salt was the major commodity going south which was exchanged for gold, ivory, hides, and slaves (acquired from African tribes conquered by the sub-Saharan empires). Goods were gathered up from across the entire West African region and channelled along the Niger and Senegal Rivers to trading 'ports' like Timbuktu. As the Sudan region saw new and richer empires rise like the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE) and Songhai Empire, so a wealthy elite sought evermore exotic and expensive goods from North Africa and the wider Mediterranean.

? ? ? ? ? 鹽是南下的主要商品，用來交換黃金、象牙、皮革和奴隸（從被撒哈拉以南帝國征服的非洲部落獲得）。貨物從整個西非地區(qū)聚集起來，沿尼日爾河和塞內加爾河輸送到廷巴克圖等貿易集散地。隨著蘇丹地區(qū)新的和更富有的帝國的崛起，如馬里帝國（公元1240-1645年）和桑海帝國，一個富有的精英階層逐漸從北非和更廣泛的地中海地區(qū)尋求更多的異國情調和昂貴商品。

Besides salt, the caravans transported southwards glazed pottery (luxury vases, cups, oil lamps, and incense burners), precious and semi-precious stones (especially garnet and amazonite), cowrie shells and copper wire to be used as currencies, copper ingots, horses, manufactured goods, fine cloth, beads, coral, dates, raisins, and glassware (cups, goblets, and perfume bottles). As the Sudan empires spread their influence and new powers rose such as Hausaland, so this brought in new goods to the trans-Saharan trade like kola nuts (a mild stimulant), ostrich feathers, perfumes, and tobacco.

? ? ? ? ? ? 除了鹽，商隊還向南運輸釉面陶器（豪華花瓶、杯子、油燈和香爐）、寶石和半寶石（特別是石榴石和亞馬遜石）、牛肝菌殼和用作貨幣的銅絲、銅錠、馬、制成品、細布、珠子、珊瑚、棗、葡萄干和玻璃制品（杯子、高腳杯和香水瓶）。隨著蘇丹帝國影響力的擴大和新勢力的崛起，如豪薩諸國，這給跨撒哈拉貿易帶來了新的商品，如可樂堅果（一種溫和的興奮劑）、鴕鳥羽毛、香水和煙草。

后果與影響

The major and most immediate consequence of the trans-Saharan trade was that it gave states tremendous power in their respective regions as they came to possess goods which were highly valued by their own populations and those of competitor states. These goods could be consumed to enhance the prestige of the ruling class or traded on or taxed which made ruling elites even richer than before and, through the payment of armies, left them in an even more dominant position over subjugated tribes and smaller states. More subtly, there was another kind of baggage besides the trade goods which came with the merchants who crisscrossed the Sahara. Ideas, technology, and religion all spread, too.

? ? ? ? ? 跨撒哈拉貿易的主要和最直接的后果是，它使各國在各自的地區(qū)擁有巨大的權力，因為它們擁有自己人口和競爭國人口都高度重視的商品。這些商品可以被消費以提高統(tǒng)治階級的聲望，也可以被交易或征稅，這使得統(tǒng)治精英們比以前更加富有，并且通過支付軍隊薪資，使他們對被征服的部落和小國處于更加有利的地位。更微妙的是，除了貿易貨物外，還有另一種貨物，它們隨著縱橫交錯的撒哈拉沙漠的商人而來——思想、技術和宗教也都在傳播。

Although the extent of either direction's cultural influence is difficult to gauge precisely, we do know that Islam was introduced into the Sudan region via northern traders from the 9th century CE. Mosques and Islamic town planning began to be seen in Sudan towns. The adoption of precise scales using accurate glass weights was adopted in some Sudan cultures, almost certainly in response to the need to accurately measure gold dust. However, some things did not seem to catch on. For example, the import of Mediterranean pottery had little effect on the production of traditional Sudan pottery shapes and designs. So, too, better kilns capable of higher firing temperatures have been revealed by archaeology in the north but were not adopted in the Sudan. In the other direction, the technique of mud-rubble to fill wall cavities may have been adopted in the north from Sudan practices.

? ? ? ? ? ?雖然任何一個方向的文化影響程度都很難準確衡量，但我們確實知道，從公元9世紀開始，伊斯蘭教就通過北方商人傳入蘇丹地區(qū)。清真寺和伊斯蘭城鎮(zhèn)規(guī)劃開始在蘇丹城鎮(zhèn)出現(xiàn)。歷史學家在一些蘇丹文明中發(fā)現(xiàn)，當時的人們會使用帶有精準玻璃砝碼的精確天平，幾乎可以肯定是為了滿足精確測量金粉的需要。然而，有些東西似乎并沒有流行起來。例如，地中海陶器的進口對蘇丹傳統(tǒng)陶器形狀和設計的生產沒有什么影響。同樣，在北方的考古中發(fā)現(xiàn)了能夠提高燒制溫度的更好的窯爐，但在蘇丹沒有被采用。在另一個方向，用泥漿填充墻體空隙的技術可能是在北方采用了蘇丹的做法。

The caravans, albeit on a much smaller scale than in their heyday, are still going today. Saharan salt from Taoudenni is still transported by Tuareg camel caravans, the 90-kilo slabs now ultimately destined for the refineries of Bamako in Mali. Four-wheel drive vehicles and satellite phones may be of enormous value to modern desert travellers but the camel still remains one of the most dependable ways to reach and transport goods in the remoter parts of the Sahara.

? ? ? ? ? 盡管與全盛時期相比，商隊的規(guī)模要小得多，但至今仍在進行。來自陶代尼的撒哈拉鹽仍然由圖阿雷格駱駝隊運輸，這些90公斤重的鹽塊現(xiàn)在最終要運往馬里的巴馬科煉油廠。四輪驅動車和衛(wèi)星電話對現(xiàn)代沙漠旅行者來說具有巨大的價值，但在撒哈拉的偏遠地區(qū)，駱駝仍然是到達和運輸貨物最可靠的方式之一。

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原文作者：Mark Cartwright

????????? 駐意大利的歷史作家。他的主要興趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神話和發(fā)現(xiàn)所有文明的共同思想。他擁有政治哲學碩士學位，是《世界歷史百科全書》的出版總監(jiān)。

原文網址：https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1344/the-camel-caravans-of-the-ancient-sahara/