ABOLISH To officially end an activity or custom
AD All dates after the year that Christians believe Jesus was born (year zero), also known as CE (the Common Era)
ASSASSIN Someone who kills a famous or important person, often for political reasons or for money
BANISH Send someone away and forbid them to come back
BARBARIAN Person from a different country or culture that is thought to be more violent than your own
BC All dates before the year that Christians believe Jesus was born (year zero), also known as BCE (Before the Common Era)
BESIEGE Surround a place with armed forces
BLOCKADE Seal or block off a place to stop goods or people from entering or leaving
BOWSPRIT Pole sticking out from the front (bow) of a ship
BOYCOTT To refuse to buy a certain product or use a certain service as a form of protest
BREECHES Trousers that stop just below the knee
BRIGADIER GENERAL Officer in the US army above colonel and below major general
CADET Young trainee in the military or police
CENTURION Officer in the Roman Army who was in charge of 100 soldiers
CHIEFTAIN Leader of a tribe
CIVIL WAR War between people who live in the same country
CONSUL Person chosen to live in a foreign place who takes care of visitors from their own country
COMMODORE Important officer in the navy
DICTATOR Ruler with total power over a country
DOWRY Money or property which a woman’s parents give to the man she marries
DYNASTY Period of time where all the rulers or leaders come from the same family
ECCENTRIC Out of the ordinary or strange
EMANCIPATION Giving people social or political freedom and rights
EMPIRE Group of countries ruled by a single person, government or country
EXILE To be sent or kept away from your own country or village
FALCONRY Sport of hunting small animals and birds using falcons
FIRST MATE Officer on a ship who is second in charge to the captain
GLADIATOR Person trained to fight for entertainment
GUILLOTINE Machine for cutting people’s heads off
HIDE Animal skin
HILT Handle of a sharp pointed weapon such as a sword
IMMORTAL Living or lasting forever
INVADE Enter a country or city in order to take over or cause damage
LEGION A group of 3,000–6,000 men in the ancient Roman Army
LONGSHIP Wooden ships made and used by the Vikings
LOOT Stolen money or goods
MARAUDER Person that goes from one place to another looking for something to kill or steal
MOORISH Word to describe Muslims who came from Africa and conquered most of Spain and Portugal in AD 711
NOMADIC Lifestyle where people move from place to place
OCHRE A yellowish-orange kind of clay
OUTLAW Person who is not protected by law
OVERLORD Ruler
PAGAN Person who has religious beliefs that do not belong to the main world religions
PILLAGE Steal something from a place or a person using violence
PLANTATION Area of land on which crops such as coffee, sugar, cotton and tobacco are grown
PLUNDER Steal cargo, money or belongings
PRIVATEER SHIP Ship that is officially allowed to attack foreign ships during wartime
REPUBLIC Country without a monarch (king or queen) in charge
SCHOLAR Person who studies a subject in great detail
SENATOR Politician who has been elected
SETTLEMENT Place a group of people have made their home
SLAVE Person who is the legal property of another person
TANNER Person who turns animal skins into leather
TAPESTRY Cloth with an embroidered picture on it that often tells a story
TEEPEE Type of tent in the shape of a cone made from animal skins and wooden poles
TERRACOTTA Baked reddish-brown clay
TRIBE Group of people who live together
UPRISING Act of resistance or rebellion
WEEVIL Small beetle that lives in stored food
WIGWAM Dome shaped living space made of wood covered with canvas, animal skins or grass