A guide to the language of history
History glossary
Understand the people, places and ideas behind the stories. Find a term, read its meaning, then explore it in context.
1–19 of 19 terms · H
Clear filtersHammurabi's Code
the famous Babylonian law collection issued by King Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BCE.
Harappan
relating to the Indus Valley civilisation, named after the city of Harappa.
Hawker Hurricane
a rugged British fighter aircraft that carried much of RAF Fighter Command’s combat burden in 1940.
Heliocentrism
the model that places the Sun, rather than Earth, near the center of the planetary system.
Hellenistic World
the Greek-influenced world that spread across the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia after Alexander the Great.
hereditary
passed down through family inheritance, usually within a ruling house, noble lineage or office-holding family.
heretic
a person judged by a religious authority to hold beliefs contrary to accepted doctrine.
hieroglyphics
the formal writing system used in ancient Egypt for sacred, royal, and monumental texts.
Hijra
Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622.
hillfort
a defended settlement or enclosure, often on high ground, associated with parts of Iron Age Europe.
Hitler Youth
the Nazi youth organisation used to recruit and indoctrinate young people.
Holocaust
the Nazi genocide of six million Jews and the persecution and murder of millions of others.
Holy Land
a religious and historical name for the land around Jerusalem and nearby parts of the southern Levant.
household responsibility system
the rural reform that let farming households keep or sell surplus after meeting state obligations.
humanism
a Renaissance intellectual movement focused on classical texts, rhetoric, ethics, and human learning.
Huns
a nomadic confederation from the Eurasian steppe whose westward pressure displaced Gothic groups and threatened the Roman Empire.
Hydrogen bomb
a fusion-based nuclear weapon far more powerful than the atomic bombs used in 1945.
Hyksos
foreign rulers who controlled northern Egypt from the Delta during the Second Intermediate Period.
Hyperinflation
extremely rapid price rises that make money lose value very quickly.
