hegira
A journey taken to escape from danger; an exodus.
By all odds the most remarkable westward migration before the California gold rush of 1849 was the Mormon hegira to the Great Salt Lake basin.
Where it comes from
From Arabic هِجْرَة (hijra, “exodus; emigration”). Doublet of hijra.
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry hegira (CC BY-SA 4.0).