| HISTORICAL WORD | MEANING |
| acropolis | fortress or elevated part of Greek city, especially Athens |
| archipelago | group of islands |
| aristocracy | government headed by privileged class or nobility |
| armistice | end of hostilities in a war |
| assassination | killing by treacherous violence |
| astrolabe | instrument formerly used to calculate altitudes and locations |
| autocracy | government in which the ruler has absolute, unlimited power |
| banner | flag of country, king, knight, army especially in battle |
| blitzkrieg | intensive attack; lightning warfare practised by Nazi German armies |
| citadel | fortress protecting a city |
| clan | family group with a common ancestor |
| communism | form of complete socialism with public ownership of all land, means of production and goods |
| democracy | government by the people where citizens have voting and ruling powers |
| empire | group of territories controlled by an emperor |
| feud | lasting hostility between two families or tribes |
| genocide | killing or extermination of a whole race or nation |
| government | group of persons who together make laws and govern a State |
| guerrilla, guerilla | irregular war by small bodies |
| hegemony | leadership or dominance of one nation over others |
| holocaust | killing of millions of Jews by Nazis during WWII; wholesale sacrifice or destruction by fire |
| idol | image used as object of worship; often God carved in stone or wood |
| illiteracy | inability to read or write; need for learning |
| invasion | hostile attack and encroachment of city or country |
| laissez faire | government abstention from interference with the economy and individual action |
| mace | hammer-like weapon of medieval times |
| manor | land and its rights held by the lord during the feudal period |
| militarism | glorification of or reliance on military forces and prepared for war |
| monarch | imperial or royal ruler with complete authority |
| monarchy | government, system or State under a single imperial or royal ruler |
| monopoly | exclusive control of the trade in a certain product |
| neutral | impartial in a dispute or taking neither side |
| pilgrimage | journey to a holy place for religious reasons |
| plantation | estate for cultivation |
| prophet | inspired teacher who predicts future or interprets God's will |
| regicide | killing of a king |
| revolution | forcible replacement of government or overthrowing of ruler |
| sacrifice | killing of a victim as an offering to the Gods |
| savannah | grassy plains in tropical regions of America |
| scarcity | insufficiency or inadequate supply |
| serf | laborer bound to and transferred with the land |
| slave | helpless person made to do hard work and who is the property of the master |
| theocracy | government or State where God is sovereign, religion is law, and priests are kings |
| tribe | group of persons under recognized chiefs |
