什么是城邦

一个独立城市的一种政治制度，对其周围地区享有主权，并为其宗教、政治、经济和文化生活的中心。这个名词起源於19世纪後期的英国，专指古希腊、腓尼基等殖民地，就其规模、独占性、爱国精神及独立愿望等方面而言，都与部落或国家制度有所不同。也许源自部落制度瓦解和各分裂集团在西元前1000～西元前800年组成独立的城邦核心。到西元前5世纪时，城邦数目有好几百个，雅典、斯巴达和底比斯是其中最重要的几个。由於不能组成永久性的联盟或联邦，它们就成了马其顿王国、迦太基人和罗马帝国的牺牲品。到11世纪，在义大利的城邦有复兴之势。中世纪义大利城邦的成功归因於与东方贸易而繁荣，这些城邦包括比萨、佛罗伦斯、威尼斯和热那亚，一些城邦残存至19世纪。中世纪日耳曼城邦包括汉堡、不来梅和吕贝克。现今唯一还存在的城邦是梵谛冈城。

city-state

Political system consisting of an independent city with sovereignty over a fixed surrounding area for which it served as leader of religious, political, economic, and cultural life. The term was coined in the 19th century to describe ancient Greek and Phoenician settlements that differed from tribal or national systems in size, exclusivity, patriotism, and ability to resist incorporation by other communities. They may have developed when earlier tribal systems broke down and splintered groups established themselves as independent nuclei c. 1000-800 BC; by the 5th century BC they numbered in the hundreds, with Athens, Sparta, and Thebes among the most important. Incapable of forming any lasting union or federation, they eventually fell victim to the Macedonians, the Carthaginians, and the Roman empire. In the 11th century the city-state revived in Italy; the success of medieval Italy's city-states, including Pisa, Florence, Venice, and Genoa, was due to growing prosperity from trade with the East, and several survived into the 19th century. Germany's medieval city-states included Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck. The only city-state extant today is Vatican City.