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.
37–72 of 797 terms
aristocrats
members of a privileged elite whose status often rested on family background, land and inherited rank.
Armistice
an agreement to stop fighting, usually without settling every political issue.
armistice line
a military boundary created by an armistice rather than a final peace treaty.
arms race
competition between states to build larger or more advanced military forces and weapons.
Army Group North
the German army group assigned to drive through the Baltic region toward Leningrad in Operation Barbarossa.
Article 231
the Versailles clause that assigned Germany and its allies responsibility for wartime loss and damage.
Articles of Confederation
the first national constitution of the United States, creating a weak central government under strong state authority.
Assembly
the gathering of Athenian male citizens where major public decisions could be debated and voted on.
Aten
the solar deity elevated by Akhenaten during his religious reforms.
Athens
an ancient Greek city-state, now Greece's capital, known for democracy, naval power, drama, and philosophy.
attainder
a legal condemnation that could remove property and inheritance.
Austria-Hungary
the multiethnic Habsburg empire in central Europe that fought with Germany as a Central Power in the First World War.
autonomy
the power of a region, institution, or group to govern some of its own affairs.
Avars
a steppe-origin power in central Europe whose empire was broken by Charlemagne's Frankish campaigns.
Avignon papacy
the period when popes resided at Avignon rather than Rome, beginning in 1309.
Axis Powers
the wartime coalition led by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.
Aztec Empire
a powerful Mesoamerican empire centered on Tenochtitlan, in what is now Mexico City.
Aztecs
the Nahuatl-speaking imperial power centered on Tenochtitlan before the Spanish conquest.
Babylonian
relating to Babylon and Babylonia, a major Mesopotamian city and kingdom in modern Iraq.
Balkans
a region of southeastern Europe including countries such as Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and others.
baptism
a Christian rite of initiation that publicly marks entry into the Christian community.
barbarian
a Roman and Greek label for peoples outside the empire's cultural and political order, often used with prejudice.
bards
learned Celtic poets and performers who preserved praise, memory, genealogy, and tradition through spoken verse and song.
Battle of Ain Jalut
a 1260 battle in Palestine where the Mamluks defeated a Mongol force and halted further westward expansion.
Battle of Yarmouk
the 636 battle in which Arab Muslim armies defeated Byzantine forces and opened Syria to Islamic rule.
Bavarian
relating to Bavaria, the southern German state where Munich became the early base of Nazism.
Beer Hall Putsch
Hitler's failed 1923 coup attempt in Munich.
Beijing
the Qing imperial capital that Anglo-French forces entered during the Second Opium War.
Beijing Olympics
the 2008 Olympic Games used by China as a global showcase of confidence, wealth, and state capacity.
Berlin Conference
the 1884-85 meeting where European powers set rules for claiming African territory without African participation.
Bill of Rights
the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, protecting liberties such as speech, religion, and due process.
Black Power
a varied set of demands for Black pride, independent organisation and greater control over political and community life.
Blackshirt squads
Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy that used organised violence against socialists, trade unions, and political opponents.
blitzkrieg
fast, concentrated warfare using armor, aircraft, and movement to overwhelm opponents.
blockade
the use of naval or military pressure to cut off movement, trade, or supplies.
Boer
Dutch-descended settler communities in southern Africa, later called Afrikaners.
