The Greenwood Dictionary of World History is an indispensable, handy, and easy to use A-to-Z first-stop ready-reference resource providing essential information on over 2,000 of the most studied and important people, events, places, and ideas in world history from prehistoric to modern times, from all regions and epochs.

Selection of entries—which are truly global in their range—was based on the guidelines and recommendations of organizations and agencies such as the National Council for History Education, the National Center for History in the Schools, the World History Association, the College Board World History Advanced Placement Test, and many of the state standards for history education. The content of the entries has been kept brief and concise to provide a definition or fundamental facts.