History glossary
Peninsula
a piece of land surrounded by water on most sides but still connected to a larger landmass.
- Category
- Geographical feature
What it means
A peninsula extends out from a larger landmass into a sea or other body of water. Unlike an island, it remains joined to the mainland. The Korean Peninsula extends south from mainland Asia, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, to the east. North Korea and South Korea occupy the peninsula.
Stories using this term
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
The Mughal Empire
From Babur's victory at Panipat to the sack of Delhi, the Mughals built a wealthy Indian empire whose power rested on conquest, administration, elite integration and court culture before central authority fractured.
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Byzantine Empire
From Constantine's new capital to the fall of Constantinople, Byzantium preserved Roman law, Orthodox Christianity, imperial government and classical learning through more than a thousand years of adaptation.
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The Punic Wars
From rivalry over Sicily to Hannibal's invasion, Zama, and the destruction of Carthage, the Punic Wars made Rome the dominant power of the Mediterranean and changed the Republic forever.
