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.
325–360 of 797 terms
Islam
the monotheistic religion preached by Muhammad in seventh-century Arabia.
Islamophobia
hostility, prejudice, or discrimination directed at Muslims or people perceived as Muslim.
island hopping
the Allied Pacific strategy of capturing selected islands while bypassing others.
Iwo Jima
the volcanic island battle in 1945 that showed the cost of closing in on Japan.
Jim Crow
the system of racial segregation and exclusion enforced through laws and practices, especially in the American South.
Jizya
a tax associated with protected non-Muslim communities under Islamic rule.
Juche
North Korea's official ideology of self-reliance, closely tied to loyalty to the Kim family state.
Juno Beach
the Canadian D-Day landing beach between Gold and Sword.
Jutes
a Germanic-speaking group associated with early settlement in Kent and nearby regions.
Kalinga War
Ashoka's brutal conquest of Kalinga, remembered as the shock that changed his public language of rule.
Keraits
a powerful steppe confederation first allied with Temujin and later defeated by him.
KGB
the Soviet security and intelligence agency central to surveillance, repression, and state control.
Khanate
a state or territory ruled by a khan, especially in Mongol and Turkic political traditions.
Khazar Khaganate
a Turkic-led steppe empire that controlled key Volga and Caspian trade routes before Rus expansion weakened it.
Khazars
a Turkic-speaking people whose khaganate dominated steppe and river routes east of the Dnieper.
Khwarezmian Empire
a powerful Central Asian and Iranian empire destroyed by Genghis Khan after a diplomatic crisis.
Kievan Rus
a medieval state centered on Kyiv, linking Slavic, Norse, Byzantine, and steppe worlds.
Kim Dynasty
North Korea's ruling family line, beginning with Kim Il Sung and continuing through his descendants.
kingdom
a political realm ruled by a king or queen.
Kingship
the institution and ideas surrounding rule by a king.
Kish
an early Mesopotamian city near modern Tell al-Uhaymir in Iraq, often linked with early kingship.
Knight
a mounted warrior in medieval Europe, often tied to noble status, landholding, military service, and ideals of chivalry.
Korean War
the 1950-1953 war between North Korea and South Korea, involving China, the United States, and UN forces.
Kosovo crisis
the 1998–1999 conflict and humanitarian emergency in Kosovo that led to NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia.
Kristallnacht
the Nazi-organised pogrom of 9–10 November 1938 against Jews across Germany and Austria.
kulaks
a Soviet label for supposedly wealthier peasants targeted during collectivisation.
Kuomintang
The Chinese Nationalist Party, which led the Republic of China government and fought the Communists for national power.
Kwantung Army
the Japanese army command in Manchuria that seized increasing political initiative in the 1930s.
Lagash
a Sumerian city-state in southern Mesopotamia, near modern Tell al-Hiba in Iraq.
Lancastrian
connected with the royal house descended from John of Gaunt.
land redistribution
The transfer of land from existing owners to other cultivators; Communist campaigns combined social change and mobilisation with coercion and violence.
Lapis lazuli
a deep blue semi-precious stone traded across ancient Asia.
League of Nations
an international organization created after the First World War to prevent future wars.
Lebensraum
the Nazi idea of acquiring 'living space' in Eastern Europe through conquest, settlement, and racial displacement.
Legalism
a Chinese tradition of statecraft that emphasised clear laws, central authority, rewards, punishments and administrative control.
Legalist
relating to Legalism, especially policies built around law, reward, punishment and centralised state power.
