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 78 terms · S
Clear filtersSA stormtroopers
the Nazi Party's brown-shirted paramilitary force used for intimidation, street violence, and political pressure.
Salic law
a legal tradition later used in France to argue that women could not inherit or transmit the royal crown.
SALT I
the first major US-Soviet arms control agreement limiting parts of the strategic nuclear competition.
samurai
Japan's hereditary warrior class, later transformed by Tokugawa peace and Meiji reform.
sangha
the Buddhist monastic community of monks and nuns.
sanitation workers
workers who collect rubbish and help keep a city clean.
Sasanian Empire
the Persian empire that ruled Iran and Mesopotamia before the early Muslim conquests.
satrapies
large provinces or administrative regions governed for the Persian king.
satraps
provincial governors who ruled parts of the Persian Empire in the king's name.
Satsuma
a powerful southwestern Japanese domain central to the overthrow of Tokugawa rule.
Saxon
a Germanic-speaking people in northern Europe, including the continental Saxons conquered by Charlemagne.
Saxons
Germanic-speaking migrants and settlers linked to kingdoms such as Wessex, Sussex, and Essex.
Scandinavian
relating to the northern European region of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and sometimes nearby Nordic areas.
scientific method
an approach to knowledge built on observation, testing, measurement, and revision.
Scientific Revolution
the early modern transformation in European ideas about nature, observation, mathematics, and experiment.
secession
the act of formally withdrawing from a political union.
Second Crusade
the 1147-1149 crusade launched after Edessa fell, remembered for its failed attack on Damascus.
Second World War
the global war from 1939 to 1945 involving the Axis and Allied powers.
sectarian
relating to conflict or politics organised around religious or communal divisions.
Secularization
the transfer of church lands and political territories into non-church hands.
Seleucids
the Hellenistic dynasty founded by Seleucus I Nicator across much of western Asia.
self-determination
the ability of people to decide their own political and community affairs.
Seljuk Turks
a Turkic Muslim dynasty and military power that ruled parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia before and during the early Crusades.
semiconductors
advanced electronic components central to computing, phones, weapons, artificial intelligence, and U.S.-China technology rivalry.
Senate
a council of senior political figures, especially important in the Roman Republic.
September 11 attacks
the al-Qaeda hijackings and attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.
Serfdom
a system where peasants were tied to land and owed labor or payments to a lord.
Seven Years' War
a global war from 1756 to 1763 that left Britain victorious but deeply indebted, reshaping its American empire.
Shah
a Persian royal title meaning king.
Shang
a Bronze Age Chinese dynasty known for oracle bones, royal ancestor ritual, and powerful bronze production.
Shays' Rebellion
a 1786-1787 uprising by indebted Massachusetts farmers that exposed weaknesses in the Confederation government.
Shi'a
a major branch of Islam shaped by allegiance to Ali and the Prophet's family in questions of leadership.
Shia
a major branch of Islam whose Iraqi majority gained new political power after Saddam Hussein's fall.
shogun
a military ruler of Japan, and by extension the warrior government ruled through that office.
Silk Roads
networks of land and sea routes linking East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
sit-in
a protest in which people occupy a place and refuse to leave.
