History glossary
Tribe
a social or political group based on kinship, identity, territory, or shared leadership.
- Category
- Social group
What it means
Tribe is a broad and sometimes imprecise term used by historians for groups organized outside centralized states. It can describe kinship networks, warrior elites, local leaders, shared customs, and regional identities, but it should not imply simple or static societies.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Mughal Empire
From Babur's victory at Panipat to the sack of Delhi, the Mughals built a wealthy Indian empire whose power rested on conquest, administration, elite integration and court culture before central authority fractured.
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
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 Celtic World Before Rome
Celtic tribes spanned Europe, shaping culture, conflict, and a lasting legacy.
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution transformed how humans understand the world, replacing tradition with observation, experimentation and mathematical laws that still shape modern science.
Kievan Rus
The founding of the Rus’ state in the north.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece was a civilisation of city-states, sailors, philosophers, soldiers, artists, and political experiments whose influence reached far beyond the Aegean world. From Athens and Sparta to the Persian Wars, democracy, philosophy, drama, and Alexander the Great, Greek history helped shape ideas about citizenship, empire, knowledge, and culture. Its legacy survived through Rome, Byzantium, Islam, and modern Europe, making Ancient Greece central to the story of the classical world.
