History key terms

A gesture of submission or respect towards a superior, such as bowing or prostrating oneself.

A position allowing a non-member to attend and participate in an organisation’s proceedings without the full rights of membership.

The front face of a coin or tablet; on these coins it carries Alexander’s portrait.

The control of a country or territory by foreign armed forces.

An area of a defeated country placed under the authority of a foreign occupying power.

Territories under the control of another state’s armed forces. In the First Intifada, the central territories were the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967.

Land controlled by the armed forces of another state. Military occupation does not, by itself, transfer sovereignty over that land.

A government agency created by Roosevelt in April 1941 which regulated wartime prices and administered rationing.

Actions and policies of authorities, such as the Crown, Parliament and local officials, towards migrants.

The ancient Greek household, including its family, property and dependants.

The Tsarist secret police, which monitored, infiltrated and suppressed opposition movements.

London’s major criminal court, where serious criminal cases were tried.

Long-standing Bolshevik Party members who had worked with Lenin before or during the 1917 Revolution.

The Germanic language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, which formed the foundation of the later English language.

Opponents of revivalism who defended established religious authority and more traditional worship.

James Francis Edward Stuart, son of James VII and II and the claimant supported by the Jacobites in 1715. His opponents called him the Old Pretender because they rejected his claim to the throne.

Government in which political power is held by a small group rather than by one ruler or the wider citizen body.

An event interpreted as a sign of what will happen in the future.

Signs interpreted as messages from the gods about whether a proposed action would succeed or receive divine approval.

A Chinese population-control policy introduced in 1979 which sought to limit most couples to one child, although its implementation and exceptions varied.

A political system in which only one party is permitted to exercise power, preventing rival parties from freely competing to form a government.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose members coordinate oil policies, including production targets.

A farming arrangement in which large village fields were divided into strips cultivated by different households.

A prison with lower security and more relaxed conditions, intended for suitable prisoners who can be trusted with greater responsibility.

Unfenced grazing land used by cattle ranchers, which was increasingly divided by farms and fences.

Raising cattle on large areas of unfenced land, much of it public land available for free grazing.

The German invasion of the Soviet Union, launched on 22 June 1941.

The US-led military operation launched in Afghanistan on 7 October 2001, with British participation, against al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime.

The sustained US air offensive against North Vietnam in 1972, intended to disrupt its supplies and help stop its offensive against South Vietnam.

The sustained US bombing campaign against North Vietnam and supply routes, lasting from March 1965 to November 1968.