pharaoh An Egyptian monarch.
philosophes French Enlightenment social philosophers.
pogrom Violence against Jews in tsarist Russia.
polis A Greek city-state.
polytheism The belief in many gods.
Pope The head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Potsdam Conference A 1945 meeting of the leaders of Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet
Union in which it was agreed that the Soviet Union would be given control of eastern Europe and
that Germany would be divided into zones of occupation.
Prague Spring A 1968 program of reform to soften socialism in Czechoslovakia; it resulted in the
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
predestination The belief of Protestant reformer John Calvin that God had chosen some people for
heaven and others for hell.
proletariat In Marxist theory, the class of workers in an industrial society.
Protestant Reformation A religious movement begun by Martin Luther in 1517 that attempted to
reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; it resulted in the formation of new
Christian denominations.
purdah The Hindu custom of secluding women.
purges Joseph Stalin’s policy of exiling or killing millions of his opponents in the Soviet Union.
Quechua Andean society also known as the Inca.
quipus A system of knotted cords of different sizes and colors used by the Incas for keeping records.
Quran The holy book of Islam.
radicalism Western European political philosophy during the nineteenth century; advocated
democracy and reforms favoring lower classes.
Ramadan The holy month of Islam which commemorates the appearance of the angel Gabriel to
Muhammad; fasting is required during this month.
Reconquista (Reconquest) The recapture of Muslim-held lands in Spain by Christian forces; it was
completed in 1492.
Red Guard A militia of young Chinese people organized to carry out Mao Zedong’s Cultural
Revolution.
Reign of Terror (1793–1794) The period of most extreme violence during the French Revolution.
reincarnation Rebirth; a belief of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
Renaissance The revival of learning in Europe beginning about 1300 and continuing to about 1600.
reparations The payment of war debts by the losing side.
repartamiento In the Spanish colonies, a replacement for the encomienda system that limited the
number of working hours for laborers and provided for fair wages.
Revolution of 1905 Strikes by urban workers and peasants in Russia; prompted by shortages of food
and by Russia’s loss to Japan in 1905.
Revolutions of 1848 Democratic and nationalistic revolutions, most of them unsuccessful, that swept
through Europe.