History glossary
September 11 attacks
the al-Qaeda hijackings and attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.
- Category
- Terrorist attack
- Region
- United States
- Date range
- 2001
What it means
The September 11 attacks were coordinated al-Qaeda hijackings on 11 September 2001. Four planes were seized; two struck the World Trade Center in New York, one struck the Pentagon, and one crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers resisted. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the U.S.-led War on Terror.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Ethiopian Empire
From Tewodros II's reunification drive to Haile Selassie's overthrow, Ethiopia defended independence, expanded imperial power, modernised unevenly and held a unique place in modern African history.
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
Apartheid South Africa
From white minority rule to mass resistance, Mandela's release and the first democratic election, apartheid reshaped South Africa and the world.
The Hundred Years War
From Edward III's claim to Joan of Arc, Agincourt and Castillon, the Hundred Years War reshaped England, France and medieval warfare.
Operation Barbarossa
From Hitler's ideological war in the east to Soviet survival before Moscow, Barbarossa turned expected blitzkrieg into prolonged attritional catastrophe.
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Byzantine Empire
From Constantine's new capital to the fall of Constantinople, Byzantium preserved Roman law, Orthodox Christianity, imperial government and classical learning through more than a thousand years of adaptation.
