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 59 terms · P
Clear filterspagan
a broad medieval Christian label for people or practices outside Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Pan Africanist Congress
the anti-apartheid movement formed in 1959 after a split from the ANC.
papacy
the office and institution of the bishop of Rome as leader of the Latin Church.
papal bull
a formal papal document carrying official authority.
Parable
a short story used to teach a moral, religious or spiritual point.
Parliament
an assembly that debates laws, taxes, and government, especially in Britain and many later states.
Partisans
the communist-led resistance movement that defeated rivals and took power in Yugoslavia after the Second World War.
partition
the division of territory into separate political units, especially British India's split into India and Pakistan in 1947.
pass laws
laws requiring Black South Africans to carry documents controlling movement and residence.
patricians
Rome's old elite families, who dominated early republican offices, priesthoods, and political authority.
Patriot Act
the 2001 U.S. law that expanded investigative, surveillance, and counterterrorism powers after 9/11.
Patronage
support given by powerful patrons to writers, artists, officials or dependants.
Peace of Augsburg
the 1555 settlement that recognised Catholic and Lutheran territorial arrangements in the empire.
Peace of Westphalia
the 1648 treaties that ended the Thirty Years’ War and reset religious and political arrangements.
Peacock Throne
the jewel-covered Mughal throne associated with Shah Jahan's imperial splendour.
Pechenegs
Turkic-speaking steppe nomads who became a major southern threat to Kievan Rus after Khazar power collapsed.
penance
acts of repentance performed after confession or wrongdoing.
People's Republic of China
the Communist-led state proclaimed by Mao Zedong on 1 October 1949.
Perestroika
Gorbachev's policy of restructuring the Soviet economy and political system.
Permanent occupation
long-term control of conquered territory through governors, troops, taxes, and administration.
Persian Empire
a major empire based in ancient Iran that ruled much of western Asia, Egypt, and Anatolia.
Persians
Rome's eastern rivals, especially the Sasanian Persian Empire during the third-century crisis.
Petrarch
the Italian poet and scholar whose reading of classical authors helped shape Renaissance humanism.
phalanx
a dense infantry formation associated with Greek citizen-soldiers and shield-and-spear warfare.
Pharaoh
the title used for ancient Egypt's kings, who were treated as both political and sacred rulers.
Phoenicians
seafaring people from the Levant whose trade networks and colonies shaped the Mediterranean.
Picts
peoples of northern Britain who remained outside Roman and later Anglo-Saxon rule.
Piety
devotion or dutiful respect toward gods, religious practices, or sacred obligations.
Pilgrimage
a religious journey to a sacred place.
Planned economy
an economy in which central authorities direct production, labor, distribution, or resource use.
Plantagenet
the royal family whose rival Lancastrian and Yorkist branches contested England’s crown.
plebeians
the wider body of common Roman citizens who fought for legal protection and political rights during the Republic.
pogrom
an organised or tolerated outbreak of violence against a minority community, historically often against Jews.
Poitiers
the 1356 English victory where Edward the Black Prince captured King John II of France.
Polis
an ancient Greek city-state, combining a city, its citizens, and surrounding territory.
Poor People's Campaign
a campaign planned to unite people across racial lines against poverty.
