Why did Muhammad and his followers move from Mecca to Yathrib?

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After initially ignoring Muhammad's call, the elites in Mecca, commercially threatened by the growing popularity of his message, persecuted Muhammad and his followers. This continued, and intensified, over more than a decade. The hardships reached a new level for Muhammad after the deaths of his wife Khadija, the first woman to convert to Islam (who was a Christian),[citation needed] and his uncle Abu Talib, an important political protector of Muhammad. Eventually, in 622, he was forced to move out of Mecca in a journey known to Muslims as the Hijra (the Migration).[5] He settled in the area of Yathrib (now known as Medina) with his followers, where he was the leader of the first avowedly Muslim community. Eight years of war between Muhammad and Meccan forces followed, ending with the Muslim victory and conquest of Mecca. The Muslims subsequently removed everything they considered idolatrous from the Kaaba. Most of the townspeople accepted Islam. In March 632, Muhammad led the pilgrimage known as the Hajj. On returning to Medina he fell ill and died after a few days, on June 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad Dec 21 06, 8:11 AM