ABSTRACT
“Migration” could be defined as “a spatial movement of individuals and groups with a permanent relocation of the main place of residence.” 1 It might be a relatively simple concept, but it offers a lot of points for discussion according to its relationship with actual societies. For example, we can focus on movement of migration itself, societies for which migrants are destined or communities from which migrants come. If we focus on the movement itself, we may consider the time, route and distance of the movement, as well as the difference in the scale of migrations, that is, whether they are as individuals, as groups, or en masse. If we focus on migration’s effects on the society for which the migrants are destined, we can discern between settlement in uninhabited areas, migration through conquest and migration as a minority into a society or state, and consider differences in migrants’ relationship with the existing population, changes of their own and others’ identities, their assimilation process and so forth. To identify the reasons and causes of migrations, we can examine the places and communities they come from, as well as the allure of their destinations.
