Glossary of Terms

Babur   Founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; first led invasion of India in 1526; died in 1530. (p. 627)

Babylonian empire   Unified all of Mesopotamia c. 1800 b.c.e.; collapsed due to foreign invasion c. 1600 b.c.e. (p. 35)

Baghdad   Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon. (p. 295)

Baibars   [bI bars] Commander of Mamluk forces at Ain Jalut; originally enslaved by Mongols and sold to Egyptians. (p. 488)

Bakr, Abu   [bak uhr, uh bU] One of Muhammad's earliest converts; succeeded Muhammad as first caliph of Islamic community. (p. 288)

bakufu   Military government established by the Minamoto following the Gempei Wars; centered at Kamakura; retained emperor, but real power resided in military government and samurai. (p. 456)

Balboa, Vasco de   First Spanish captain to begin settlement on the mainland of Mesoamerica in 1509; initial settlement eventually led to conquest of Aztec and Inca empires by other captains. (p. 554)

Balfour Declaration   British minister's promise of support for the establishment of Jewish settlement in Palestine during World War I; issued in 1917. (p. 844)

Balkan   Peninsula located in south-eastern Europe, including Macedonia and Greece, plus what became Bulgaria; controlled by Byzantine Empire. (p. 355)

Balkan nationalism   Movements to create independent nations within the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire; provoked a series of crises within the European alliance system; eventually led to World War I. (p. 723)

Banana Republics   Term given to conservative governments supported or created by the United States in Latin America; believed to be either corrupt or subservient to U.S. interests. (p. 951)

Bangladesh   Founded as an independent nation in 1972; formerly East Pakistan. (p. 996)

ball games   Ritual elements of many American cultures; played on formal courts; religious significance required that losing teams pay penalty of forfeiture of goods or their lives. (p. 209)

band   A level of social organization normally consisting of 20 to 30 people; nomadic hunters and gatherers; labor divided on a gender basis. (p. 13)

banner armies   Eight armies of the Manchu tribes identified by separate flags; created by Nurhaci in early 17th century; utilized to defeat Ming emperor and establish Qing dynasty. (p. 794)

Bantu   Originated in eastern Nigeria in West Africa; migrated into central and southern Africa using rivers–particularly the Congo Basin; village dwellers who depended on agriculture and fishing. (p. 229)

Batavia   Dutch fortress located after 1620 on the island of Java. (p. 659)

Batista, Fulgencio   Dictator of Cuba from 1934 to 1944; returned to presidency in 1952; ousted from government by revolution led by Fidel Castro. (p. 945)

Battle of River Zab   Victory of Abbasids over Umayyads; resulted in conquest of Syria and capture of Umayyad capital. (p. 294)

Battle of Siffin   Fought in 657 between forces of Ali and Umayyads; settled by negotiation that led to fragmentation of Ali's party. (p. 290)

Batu   Ruler of Golden Horde; one of Chinggis Khan's grandsons; responsible for invasion of Russia beginning in 1236. (p. 483)

bedouin   Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam. (p. 279)

Belgian Revolution of 1830   Produced Belgian independence from the Dutch; established a liberal constitutional monarchy. (p. 703)

Belisarius   One of Justinian's most important military commanders during period of reconquest of western Europe; commanded in North Africa and in Italy. (p. 356)

Benedict of Nursia   Founder of monasticism in what had been the western half of the Roman Empire; established Benedictine Rule in the 6th century; paralleled development of Basil's rules in Byzantine Empire. (pp. 266)

Benin   City-state formed in 14th century under Ewuare the Great (1400–1473); control extended from Niger River to coast near modern Lagos. (p. 647)

Benin   A large and powerful kingdom of West Africa near the coast (in present-day Nigeria) which came into contact with the Portuguese in 1485 but remained relatively free of European influence; remained an important commercial and political entity until the 19th century. (p. 347)

Berke   [ber kuh] Ruler of the Golden Horde; converted to Islam; his threat to Hulegu combined with the growing power of Mamluks in Egypt forestalled further Mongol conquests in the Middle East. (p.489)

Berlin Wall   Built in 1961 to halt the flow of immigration from East Berlin to West Berlin; immigration was in response to lack of consumer goods and close Soviet control of economy and politics. Wall was torn down at end of Cold War in 1991. (p. 898)

St. Bernard of Clairvaux   [bûr närd uhv klâr vO] Emphasized role of faith in preference to logic; stressed importance of mystical union with God; successfully challenged Abelard and had him driven from the universities. (p. 386)

bhaktic cults   [buk tEEk] Groups dedicated to gods and goddesses; stressed the importance of strong emotional bonds between devotees and the god or goddess who was the object of their veneration; most widely worshipped gods were Shiva and Vishnu. (p. 324)

Bhutto, Benazir   Twice prime minister of Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s; first ran for office to avenge her father's execution by the military clique then in power. (p. 1003)

Biafra   Founded as an independent nation in eastern Nigeria, where the Ibo people were most numerous; suppressed as an independent state and reincorporated into Nigeria in 1970. (p. 997)

bishops   Headed Christian churches and regional centers and supervised the activities of other churches within the jurisdictional area. (p. 167)

Bismarck, Otto von   Conservative prime minister of Prussia; architect of German unification under Prussian king in 1870; utilized liberal reforms to attract support for conservative causes. (p. 711)

Black Death   Plague that struck Europe in 14th century; significantly reduced Europe's population; affected social structure. (p. 395)

Blitzkrieg   German term for lightning warfare; involved rapid movement of troops, tanks, and mechanized carriers; resulted in early German victories over Belgium, Holland, and France in World War II. (p. 854)

bodhisattvas   [bO duh sut vuhs] Buddhist holy men; built up spiritual merits during their lifetime; prayers even after death could aid people to achieve reflected holiness. (p. 263)

Body of Civil Law   Justinian's codification of Roman law; reconciled Roman edicts and decisions; comprehensive system made Roman law coherent basis for political and economic life. (p. 355)

Boers   Dutch settlers in Cape Colony. (p. 560)

Boer republics   Transvaal and Orange Free State in southern Africa; established to assert independence of Boers from British colonial government in Cape Colony in 1850s; discovery of diamonds and precious metals caused British migration into the Boer areas in 1860s. (p. 750)

Boer War   Fought between 1899 and 1902 over the continued independence of Boer republics; resulted in British victory, but began the process of decolonization in South Africa. (p. 750)

Bolívar, Simon   Creole military officer in northern South America; won series of victories in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador between 1817 and 1822; military success led to creation of independent state of Gran Colombia. (p. 757)

Bolshevik Revolution   After initial revolution in March 1917 had set up a liberal regime in Russia, the well-organized Bolshevik faction of the communist party, under Lenin, seized power in November (October by the Russian calendar, hence often called the October Revolution); the Bolsheviks capitalized on worker strikes and widespread discontent with Russia's continued participation in World War I; quickly moved to set up a new political and social regime. (p. 819)

Bolsheviks   Literally, the majority party; the most radical branch of the Russian Marxist movement; led by V.I. Lenin and dedicated to his concept of social revolution; actually a minority in the Russian Marxist political scheme until its triumph in the 1917 revolution. (p. 816)

Bonaparte, Napoleon   Rose within the French army during the wars of the French Revolution; eventually became general; led a coup that ended the French Revolution and established the French Empire under his rule; defeated and deposed in 1815. (p. 702)

Boxer Rebellion   Popular outburst in 1898 aimed at expelling foreigners from China; failed because of intervention of armies of Western powers in China; defeat of Chinese enhanced control by Europeans and the power of provincial officials.(p. 801)

boyars   Russian aristocrats; possessed less political power than did their counterparts in western Europe. (p. 714)

Brest-Litovsk Treaty   [brest li tofsk] Signed between the revolutionary government of Russia and Germany in March 1918; Russia withdrew from World War I and granted substantial territories to Germany in return for peace. (p. 844)

British East India Company   Joint stock company that obtained government monopoly over trade in India; acted as virtually independent government in regions it claimed. (p. 548)

British Raj   Government of the British East India Company; developed as a result of the rivalry between France and Britain in India. (p. 731)

Bronze Age   From about 4000 b.c.e., when bronze tools were first introduced in the Middle East, to about 1500 b.c.e.., when iron began to replace it. (p. 30)

Buddha   Creator of major Indian and Asian religion; born in 6th century b.c.e. as son of local ruler among Aryan tribes located near Himalayas; became an ascetic; found enlightenment under bo tree; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for all earthly things. (p. 180)

Bulgaria   Slavic kingdom established in northern portions of Balkan peninsula; constant source of pressure on Byzantine Empire; defeated by Emperor Basil II in 1014. (p. 357)

bushi   Regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies.( p. 454)

Buyids   Regional splinter dynasty of the mid-10th century; invaded and captured Baghdad; ruled Abbasid Empire under name of sultan; retained Abbasids as figureheads. (p. 310)

Byzantine Empire   Eastern half of Roman Empire following collapse of western half of old empire; retained Mediterranean culture, particularly Greek; later lost Palestine, Syria, and Egypt to Islam; capital at Constantinople. (pp. 260, 355)

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