History key terms

Scientifically flawed agricultural ideas associated with Soviet scientist Trofim Lysenko, including planting seeds unusually deeply and closely together.

The background, traditions and identity inherited from earlier generations; Cleopatra belonged to a Macedonian ruling family.

A state-run centre that supplied machinery to collective farms and also helped the authorities collect grain and control the countryside.

A wooden sword-club fitted with sharp obsidian blades, used in close combat.

Mutually Assured Destruction: the situation in which both sides possess enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other, even after suffering an initial attack.

A treatment intended to attack the microorganism causing a disease without harming the rest of the patient’s body.

The ‘master of horse’, normally the dictator's subordinate military commander.

An official who dealt with local legal cases and helped organise law enforcement.

A charter first issued in 1215 that placed limits on royal power and protected specified rights. Edward I reconfirmed it during the political crisis of 1297.

A powerful local figure who could provide protection and support the establishment of a trading centre.

A member of a group associated with religious ritual; the plural is magi. Darius described Gaumata as a magus.

A Shia militia associated with Muqtada al-Sadr that opposed the US presence in Iraq.

Armour made from linked metal rings, also called chainmail.

An important addition or alteration that substantially changed a site’s buildings, organisation or use.

Army officers appointed to supervise security and moral reform in twelve regions during Cromwell’s Protectorate, beginning in 1655.

An Indigenous woman, also known as Malinali and Doña Marina, who spoke Maya and Nahuatl and became an interpreter for Cortés.

Poor health caused by not getting enough food or the right balance of nutrients.

A territory administered by another country on behalf of the League of Nations; Germany’s former colonies became mandates.

The nine activists prosecuted following the August 1970 protest against police harassment of the Mangrove Restaurant.

A nineteenth-century belief that the United States was destined, often understood as divinely intended, to expand across North America.

An army unit. In Livy’s account of Tarquin’s arrangements, one Roman century and one Latin century were combined into each maniple, with a centurion commanding each half.

The ability to change direction and position effectively. At sea, this allows ships to avoid attacks or surround slower opponents.

An estate controlled by a lord, including farmland and usually a village. Its peasants paid rents or provided services to the lord.

A court held under a lord’s authority that dealt with local matters such as minor offences and disputes over land within a manor.

A rank in the Mughal imperial service, determining an official’s standing and associated responsibilities.

An officer holding a mansab in the Mughal imperial service, with administrative or military duties and an obligation to supply cavalry.

Work that produces manufactured goods, usually using machinery in factories.

The release of an enslaved person from slavery by their enslaver.

A document or book written by hand rather than printed.

The decoration of a handwritten text with pictures, patterned borders or decorated letters.