Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
World History Volume 1, to 1500

Key Terms

World History Volume 1, to 1500Key Terms

Key Terms

dictator
a Roman Republican office with absolute authority over the state for a limited time during emergencies
Hellenistic
a description of Greek history, language, and culture in the period 323–31 BCE
Levant
a historical geographical term referring to an area in the eastern Mediterranean consisting roughly of modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria
Linear A
a script developed by the Minoans but not yet deciphered by modern scholars
Linear B
a Mycenaean script developed from Linear A that was used to write an early form of the Greek language
mystery religions
religious cults that featured secret rituals (the so-called mysteries) and became popular in Hellenistic cities
optimates
politicians who supported the old order and the traditional leadership of elites
polis
a city-state in Ancient Greece
populares
politicians who sought the political support of discontented groups in Roman society
principate
the political system established by Augustus Caesar after 27 BCE, which relied on Rome’s traditional institutions and practices to legitimize a military dictatorship
proletariat
the landless working class
Struggle of the Orders
a political contest during the first centuries of the Republic in which Rome’s commoners sought equal rights with elites
Twelve Tables
the first set of written laws in Rome, from about 450 BCE
PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Apr 23, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.