lay in what is now Iraq.) The powerful
Hittite kingdom developed in Anatolia
(modern Turkey) after 1900 BC. The
ancient region of Palestine was home to
the first Jewish state, the kingdom of
Israel, about 3,000 years ago.
The Persian Empire ruled much of the
Middle East by the 500s BC. The Greeks
and the Romans later took control of
the region. After the fall of Rome in the
AD 400s, the Byzantine Empire ruled the
western parts of the Middle East.
Beginning in the 600s, Muslims from
the Arabian Peninsula conquered most
of the Middle East. Muslim Turks
founded the Ottoman Empire in the
1300s. This empire ruled parts of the
Middle East into the 1900s.
AfterWorldWar I (1914–18) European
countries took control of much of the
Petroleum, or oil, is treated at a plant in
Saudi Arabia. The sale of petroleum is an
important part of the Middle East’s economy.
124 Middle East BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
area. France controlled Syria and Lebanon.
Great Britain ruled over Egypt,
Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and
southern Yemen. The European powers
left the Middle East soon afterWorld
War II (1939–45).
The area known as Palestine had long
been home to Jews and Arabs. Many of
the Arabs were Muslims. The people of
Palestine did not agree about who
should rule the land. Great Britain
helped develop a plan to split the land
into two states, one for the Arabs and
one for the Jewish people. When the
British left in 1948 the Jews declared
their part of the land to be the new
country of Israel. Israel and its Arab
neighbors soon fought a series of wars.
Other wars—including a civil war in
Lebanon, a war between Iran and Iraq,
and the Persian GulfWar—also troubled
the Middle East. Fighting in Palestine,
Iraq, and other places continued into the
21st century.
#More to explore
Arabian Peninsula • Islam
• Mediterranean Sea • Mesopotamia
• Ottoman Empire • Palestine • Persian
GulfWar
Migration,
Animal
Many mammals, birds, fish, insects,
and other animals move from one place
to another at certain times of the year.
This movement is called migration.
Migration is part of the life cycle of
these animals.
Animals migrate for different reasons.
Many migrate to breed or to find food.
Some animals migrate to places where
they can hibernate, or rest for the winter.
Others migrate because the weather
is too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry
during certain times of the year.
Most animals migrate across water, land,
or air. Many birds and bats in northern
parts of the world fly south for the winter.
Some whales swim from cold polar
regions to warmer waters in winter.
Other migrations are vertical, or up and
down. Mule deer in the western United
States travel from higher to lower parts
of the mountains in winter. Some earthworms
move from the top of the soil to
deeper underground.
Animals can travel a few miles or several
thousand miles. Frogs go short distances
to ponds to breed. On the other hand,
the Arctic tern spends the summer in
the Arctic and the winter in Antarctica.
This journey covers about 11,000 miles
(18,000 kilometers). Migrations can
take place either during the day or at
Herds of zebras and wildebeests cross a
river during their migration.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Migration, Animal 125
night. Birds such as geese migrate during
the day. Sparrows, warblers, and
thrushes travel by night.
Migrating animals can find their way
over long and complex routes. They use
land features such as rivers and mountains
to tell where they are. Scientists
think that many animals use the position
of the sun and stars to find the way,
too. Some animals, such as salmon, use
their sense of smell.
#More to explore
Animal • Hibernation
Migration,
Human
A long journey to a new home is called a
migration. Migrating animals generally
go back and forth between summer and
winter homes. When people migrate,
however, they often are changing homes
permanently. Much of human history is
the story of migrations.
Kinds of Migration
Some people have no permanent home.
Instead, they keep moving from place to
place. These people are usually called
nomads rather than migrants. Some
nomads move back and forth between
the summer and winter pasturelands of
their animals. Others, such as the Roma
(Gypsies), move frequently to find new
opportunities. Migrant farmworkers,
who move from farm to farm to work,
are very much like nomads.
Migration inside a country is known as
internal migration. Migration from one
country to another is called external
migration. A person who moves away
from a country is called an emigrant
from that country. A person who moves
to a country is called an immigrant to
the new country.
The promise of good jobs or farmland
lures some migrants to a new land.
Others want to get away from
mistreatment, warfare, or natural
disasters in their homeland. Sometimes
a government forces people to leave.
Migrants who have been forced to leave
their country, either by the government
or because of harsh conditions, are
called refugees.
Captive people have no say in when they
leave a country or where they go. The
African slave trade was practiced from
the 1500s to the 1800s. It brought an
