16-1日本語訳
お願いします。
It was the summer of 327 BCE,and Ambhi,king of Taxila,was not a happy camper.For one thing,Taxila was no longer as powerful and wealthy as it had been when the Persians ruled there.He was glad the Persians had gone,of course.Every once in a while,they'd send someone around asking for taxes,but as long as he paid them,the Persians pretty much left King Ambhi and his people alone.Nevertheless,he probably wished that the powerful Persians army was still in town.He could have used its help.Taxila's neighbor to the southeast,King Porus,was a brave and intelligent man who wanted Ambhi's kingdom for himself.
Still,the gossip was that the Persian army itself had fallen on hard times.Some young Greek felkow named Sikander had popped up out of nowhere－Macedonia,actually,but that was as good as nowhere－and was busily conquering the whole world.The rumor was that this Sikanddr character had never lost a battle.Of course,you couldn't believe everything you heard.A young boy still in his 20s couldn't possibly have conquered everything from the Nile River to Afghanistan,not to mention the mighty Persians－but still...the stories might be true.
King Ambhi's heart must have sunk when a messenger arrived with news of the horrible defeat of one of Taxila's neighbors.When the Greek Sikander and his troops had arrived in his kingdom,the neighboring king had foolishly tried to fight.But resistance had been futile.Not only had the king lost,but his city had been burned and looted.And that,the messenger would have told King Ambhi,was no rumor.He'd seen the terrible scene himself.Now Sikander's army was on the move again.Next stop:Taxila.
For one desperate moment,King Ambhi must have wished that he and his people could somehow jump out of Sikander's way.And then he realized that,in a way,they could.
