Glossary of Terms

Ka'ba   Most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual truce among bedouin tribes; later incorporated as important shrine in Islam. (p. 281)

Kabir   Muslim Mystic during 15th century; played down the importance of ritual differences between Hinduism and Islam. (p. 324)

Kamasutra   Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered instructions on all aspects of life for higher caste males including grooming, hygiene, etiquette, selection of wives, and instruction on love-making. (p. 192)

Kamehameha I   [kä mAY hä mAY hä, kuh mAY uh mAY uh] Fought series of wars backed by British weapons and advisors resulting in unified Hawaiian kingdom by 1810; as king he promoted economic change encouraging Western merchants to establish export trade in Hawaiian goods. (p. 751)

Kamehameha I   Hawaiian monarch who united all of the islands under his rule in 1810. (p. 246)

Kanauj   [ku nouj] Capital of Harsha's empire; featured formidable walls, palatial homes, and beautiful gardens. (p. 319)

Kangxi   [käng shEE] Confucian scholar and Manchu emperor of Qing dynasty from 1661 to 1722; established high degree of Sintification among the Manchus. (p. 795)

kapu   Complex set of social regulations in Hawaii which forbade certain activities and regulated social discourse. (p. 246)

Karakorum   Capital of the Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan. (p.483)

Karbala   Site of defeat and death of Husayn, son of Ali; marked beginning of Shi'i resistance to Umayyad caliphate. (p. 290)

karma   The sum of merits accumulated by a soul at any given point in time; determined the caste to which the soul would be assigned in the next life. (p. 176)

Kautilya   Political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; one of authors of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare. (p. 184)

Kellogg-Briand Pact   A treaty coauthored by American and French leaders in 1928; in principle outlawed war forever; ratified subsequently by other nations. (p. 858)

Kenyatta, Jomo   Leader of the nonviolent nationalist party in Kenya; organized the Kenya Africa Union (KAU); failed to win concessions because of resistance of white settlers; came to power only after suppression of the Land Freedom Army, or Mau Mau. (p. 983)

Kerensky, Alexander   Liberal revolutionary leader during the early stages of the Russian Revolution of 1917; sought development of parliamentary rule, religious freedom. (p. 890)

Keynes, John   British economist who stressed importance of government spending to compensate for loss of purchasing power during a depression; played role in the policies of the American New Deal and European economic planning after World War II. (p. 884)

khagan   Title of the supreme ruler of the Mongol tribes. (p. 481)

khanates   Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan. (p. 475)

Khartoum   River town that was administrative center of Egyptian authority in Sudan. (p. 793)

khedives   [kuh dEEv] Descendants of Muhammad Ali in Egypt after 1867; formal rulers of Egypt despite French and English intervention until overthrown by military coup in 1952. (p. 791)

Khmers   Indianized rivals of the Vietnamese; moved into Mekong River delta region at time of Vietnamese drive to the south. (p.466)

Khomeini, Ayatollah   [KHO mAY nEE, kO-, äyuh tO luh] Religious ruler of Iran following revolution of 1979 to expel the Pahlavi shah of Iran; emphasized religious purification; tried to eliminate Western influences and establish purely Islamic government. (p. 1012)

Khrushchev, Nikita   [kroosh chef, -chof, krUsh-] Stalin's successor as head of USSR; attacked Stalinism in 1956 for concentration of power and arbitrary dictatorship; failure of Siberian development program and antagonism of Stalinists led to downfall. (p. 905)

Kiev   Trade city in southern Russia established by Scandinavian traders in 9th century; became focal point for kingdom of Russia that flourished to 12th century. (p. 366)

kivas   Circular pits in Anasazi communities used for religious meetings by the men in the society. (p. 212)

Koguryo   Tribal people of northern Korea; established an independent kingdom in the northern half of the peninsula; adopted cultural Sinification. (p. 462)

Kongo   Kingdom, based on agriculture, formed on lower Congo River by late 15th century; capital at Mbanza Kongo; ruled by hereditary monarchy. (p. 348)

Korean War   Fought from 1950 to 1953; North supported by USSR and later People's Republic of China; South supported by United States and small international United Nations force; ended in stalemate and continued division of Korea. (p. 920)

Korekiyo Takahashi   [täk ä hä shEE] Minister of finance in Japan during the 1930s; increased government spending to provide jobs; created export boom and elimination of military purchasing. (p. 915)

Kubilai Khan   Grandson of Chinggis Khan; commander of the Mongol forces responsible for the conquest of China; became khagan in 1260; established Sinicized Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271. (p. 475)

kulaks   Agricultural entrepreneurs who utilized the Stolypin and later NEP reforms to increase agricultural production and buy additional land. (p. 817)

Kumbi Saleh   Capital of empire of Ghana; divided into two adjoining cities–one for the king, court, and indigenous people, one for the merchants, scholars, and religious leaders. (p. 233)

Kung Fuzi   Also known as Confucius; major Chinese philosopher; born in 6th century b.c.e.; author of Analects; philosophy based on need for restoration of order through advice of superior men to be found among the shi. (p. 103)

kuriltai   Meeting of all Mongol chieftains at which the supreme ruler of all tribes was selected. (p. 481)

Kush   An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile c. 1000 b.c.e.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries. (p. 45)

Kushanas   Dynasty that succeeded the Mauryas in northwestern India; sponsors of Buddhism; empire did not extend to Ganges River valley. (p. 188)

Back to Top