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.
1–36 of 51 terms · M
Clear filtersMagadha
the eastern Ganges kingdom that became the core of Nanda and Mauryan power.
Magna Carta
the 1215 charter that forced King John to acknowledge limits on royal power under law.
Magyars
a mounted people from the Eurasian steppe whose raids shook central and western Europe before the kingdom of Hungary formed.
Mamluks
a military elite and sultanate that ruled Egypt and Syria and ended the main crusader presence in the Levant.
Mandate of Heaven
the Zhou idea that Heaven grants rulers power only while they govern justly.
mandate system
the League of Nations system that assigned former German and Ottoman territories to victorious powers.
Manor
a medieval landed estate where peasants worked fields under a lord's authority.
manorialism
the local estate system that organized much medieval farming, dues, and lordly authority.
Mansa
A royal title used by rulers of the Mali Empire.
Mansabdari system
the Mughal ranking system that tied elite status, pay and military obligation to imperial service.
Marathas
a western Indian power whose resistance and expansion challenged late Mughal authority.
Marco Polo Bridge Incident
the July 1937 clash near Beijing that escalated into full-scale war between Japan and China.
Marduk
the patron god of Babylon, treated by Babylonians as king of the gods.
market reforms
policy changes that expand market incentives, private enterprise, trade, or foreign investment.
Marshall Plan
the American programme of economic aid used to rebuild Western Europe after the Second World War and strengthen it against communist influence.
martial law
A system of exceptional military authority that restricts ordinary civil rights and political activity.
Martyr
a witness who suffers or dies for their faith or cause.
Marxists
people or movements influenced by Karl Marx's ideas about class, capitalism, and socialism.
Mature Harappan
the main urban phase of the Indus Valley civilisation, when its largest cities and shared systems flourished.
Maurya Empire
the ancient Indian empire founded by Chandragupta Maurya that united much of the subcontinent.
Median
relating to Media or the Medes, whose kingdom shaped Persia before Cyrus' rise.
Meiji Restoration
the 1868 political transformation that overthrew Tokugawa rule and centralised power in the emperor's name.
Mein Kampf
Hitler's autobiographical and ideological book, dictated after the failed Beer Hall Putsch.
Merkits
a Mongolic steppe confederation defeated by Temujin during his rise to power.
Merovingian
the Frankish royal dynasty that ruled before the Carolingians replaced it in the eighth century.
Mesoamerican
relating to the cultural region of central and southern Mexico and parts of Central America before and after European contact.
Mesopotamia
an ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where some of the first cities, writing systems, and empires developed.
Messiah
an anointed deliverer expected in Jewish tradition and identified by Christians with Jesus.
Mexican-American War
the 1846-1848 war in which the United States defeated Mexico and gained vast western territories.
Middle Kingdom
a restored phase of Egyptian unity after the First Intermediate Period.
militant Islamist
a person or movement using or endorsing violence in pursuit of an extremist political interpretation of Islam.
militarism
the elevation of military power, readiness, and values within politics and society.
Ming Great Wall
the later, better-known wall system built and rebuilt under the Ming dynasty, distinct from earlier Qin frontier walls.
missionary
a person sent to spread a religion and establish new religious communities.
Missouri Compromise
the 1820 agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while limiting slavery in parts of the Louisiana Purchase.
Monarchy
a political system headed by a king, queen, emperor, or similar hereditary ruler.
