Abbasid: Sunni Arab dynasty in Iraq and Baghdad, 750–1258, and in Cairo, 1261–1517.
Almohads: Muslim rulers in Northwest Africa, 1130–1269.
Almoravids: Muslim Berber rulers in Northwest Africa, 1056–1147.
Anatolia: See Asia Minor.
Asia Minor: A peninsula of western Asia between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Also called Anatolia.
Assassins: Secret order of Muslim extremists and terrorists.
Atabeg: Originally a Turkish regent, it came to mean an actual ruler.
Ayyubid: Muslim dynasty in Egypt and Syria founded by Saladin.
Benefice: Land tenure associated with an ecclesiastical or secular office.
Bezant: Gold coin of the Byzantine Empire.
Caliph: Literally “successor.” The title of the supreme ruler of the Islamic state.
Canon law: Law of the church.
Dalmatia: Lands on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea.
Danishmend: Turkish dynasty that ruled in central and northeastern Anatolia from about 1071 to 1178.
Dar al-harb: “Abode of war.” In traditional Islamic thought, those lands ruled by non-Muslims, in which Muslims should wage war in order to expand the Dar al-Islam.
Dar al-Islam: “Abode of Islam.” In traditional Islamic thought, those lands ruled by Muslims in accordance with Islamic law. In opposition to the Dar al-harb.
Emir: Turkish local governor or commander in the field.
Excommunication: Ecclesiastical sanction barring one from the sacraments. An excommunicate was to be avoided by all Christians.
Fatimids: Shi’ite dynasty in Egypt, North Africa, and Syria, 909–1171.
Fief: Land or incomes given by a feudal lord to a vassal in return for military service and fealty.
Frank: Originally the name of a Germanic tribe of the Rhine region, the name was used by Byzantines and Muslims in the Middle Ages to refer to most western Europeans.
German empire: See Holy Roman Empire.
Great Schism: Period when two popes claimed sovereignty over the church, 1378–1417. One pope resided in Rome and the other in Avignon.
Greek fire: A petroleum-based mixture used by Byzantines and later others to set fire to the surface of the water, thus engulfing vessels. It could be thrown in pots or expelled through copper tubes. Because the secret of the mixture was so closely guarded, its composition is still not known with certainty.
Hagia Sophia: “Church of the Holy Wisdom.” Enormous church built by Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople. Completed in 537.
Hohenstaufen: Ruling family in the German empire, 1125–1250.
Holy Roman Empire: Loosely organized state encompassing central Europe and northern Italy. Ruled by a German king, who could be crowned emperor by a pope. Also called German empire.
Hospitallers: The Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
Imam: Muslim religious leader.
Interdict: Ecclesiastical sanction barring the administration of sacraments in a defined region.
Islamist: A Muslim who holds various conservative views, such as the expansion of Sharia, the political unification of Muslims, and the use of jihad against non-Muslims perceived as enemies of the Islamic faith.
Jihad: Muslim holy war or struggle.
Khorezmians: Formerly holding an empire stretching from Persia to Samarkand, they were displaced by Genghis Khan. When their shah died in 1231, leaderless Khorezmian troops migrated in Mesopotamia and Syria.
Legate: See papal legate.
Mangonel: A form of catapult used in medieval sieges.
Mark: Approximately eight ounces (usually of silver).
Normans: Originally Scandinavian people who settled in southern Italy and Sicily, as well as northern France and elsewhere.
Outremer: “Across the sea.” French term for the Levant.
Papal legate: One who is empowered to act in the name of the pope.
Patriarchates: The five major episcopal sees of Christianity in the ancient and late ancient world. They were Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Constantinople.
Pechenegs: Nomadic Turkic people who occupied the steppes north of the Black Sea.
Schism: Division in the church. See Great Schism.
Seljuks: Sunni Turks who conquered Iran and Iraq before invading Syria and Asia Minor.
Sharia: Islamic law.
Shia: Minority Muslim sect that recognizes Ali and his successors as the legitimate rulers of Islam.
Sultan: Muslim ruler, usually independent.
Sunni: Majority Muslim sect.
Vassal: One who swears fealty and military service to a feudal lord in return for land tenure or money.
Veneto: Lands bordering Venice.
Vizier: Muslim official, often with effective powers approaching or even exceeding those of the ruler.
Wends: Pagan Slavs who settled along the Baltic Sea.