682 migration and population movements: The Islamic World organized and collective character of much of this migration merits special attention Peasant families did not usually set off on their own, like pioneers in 19th-century America; rather, for example, an eastern lord with land to develop would make contracts with an entrepreneur, perhaps himself a peasant who had come from Flanders with an earlier group, to find takers for so many farms by such a date Still, most of this settlement was not so closely tied to a strong central government as tended to be the case in Ireland and Spain Teutonic Knights, bishops, kings, noble lords great and small, and even chartered towns and their guilds would encourage new settlers in accord with the changing needs of the moment Some of the eastward movement of populations involved Jewish communities, largely because this High Medieval migration period also saw the rise of anti-Semitism in the western core areas Jews in the Rhineland were massacred during the First Crusade; around 1300 the rulers of both England and France expelled all Jews from their kingdoms; and in some places in the mid-14th century they were blamed for the Black Death, or bubonic plague Lords in the east, eager to acquire the skills for which the Jews were known, notably with respect to trade and money, were often more welcoming The Jewish migrants eastward were culturally Germanic, or Ashkenazi Thus, by the end of the Middle Ages the elements that would thenceforth long characterize the eastern European cultural matrix—a volatile mixture of Germanic, Slavic, and Jewish communities—were in place The Islamic World by Kirk H Beetz Hegira The word hegira is often translated into English as “flight,” as in “to flee” from something, probably because it is associated with Muhammad’s flight from Mecca in the fall of 622 to escape a plot to murder him Its closest English translation is actually “migration,” as in the movement of people from one place to another There were two notable hegiras during Muhammad’s lifetime: one to Axum in Africa, across the Red Sea, and one from Mecca to Medina When capitalized, Hegira customarily refers to the movement of Muhammad’s followers from Mecca to Medina The migration to Axum is sometimes called the first Hegira to signify its importance to the Islamic faith In Arabia in Muhammad’s era, family relationships were more important than law or government, and governments often were no more than agreements among families about how public policy should be run In the 610s Muhammad’s teachings were creating problems for the leaders of the major clans of Mecca, especially his assertion that all gods save Allah were merely idols, a doctrine that they found very insulting Further, his insistence that all human beings were spiritually equal was seen as an incitement to rebellion Muhammad and most of his chief followers were protected from harm by their families, and for the time being their enemies did not threaten them Those of Muhammad’s followers who were poor, without a family, or slaves were not protected, and by 615 Muhammad’s enemies had begun murdering them Therefore, Muhammad sent these men and women out of Mecca, across the Red Sea to Axum, a trading empire in northeastern Africa The people of Axum were descendants of mixed African ethnic groups and Sabean ethnic groups from Yemen Sending followers to Axum may have been a gamble on Muhammad’s part because the king of Axum probably had no reason to regard Muhammad as a friend However, Muhammad’s followers seem to have gotten along well with Christians, and Axum was a Christian kingdom When Muhammad’s followers reached Axum, they petitioned the king for sanctuary, and he gave it to them Emissaries from Mecca asked the king to return the refugees, claiming that they had fled illegally and that some were slaves The laws of Axum apparently allowed people to plead their cases before the king, and the refugees did so The king rejected the arguments of the Meccan emissaries and gave the refugees permanent residence status in Axum Muslim scholars of medieval times interpreted this act as a sign that the king accepted the truth of Muhammad’s teachings Some of the refugees settled in Axum; others eventually rejoined Muhammad Those who settled formed their own community, and with the aid of other Muslims, in the eighth century they drove the Axumites out of the Axumites’ lowlands into the Ethiopian highlands, where the Ethiopian Empire was established In 622 the leaders of Mecca decided to take direct action against Muhammad by assassinating him and his fatherin-law, Abu Bakr (ca 573–634) When the assassins entered Muhammad’s residence at night, they found someone else in his bed because Muhammad had known about the threat on his life He and his followers had left for the town of Yathrib, where he had admirers Thereafter the town was called Medina, meaning “the city.” Muhammad’s followers were called the muhajirun, meaning “emigrants,” and those who welcomed them in Medina were called the ansar, meaning “helpers.” This migration, the Hegira, was marked by the Islamic world as the moment their faith began to expand, and consequently it is year in the Islamic calendar In Medina, Muhammad gained a measure of temporal power, which he used to drive out two of the leading Jewish clans and to execute all of the men and sell all of the women and children