Nicæa ('city of victory'), Asia Minor. 40N. 30E. F. by Antigonus, c. 316 B.C. Taken by Seljuks, 1078; by Crusaders, 1097; by the Osmanlis, 1326. Bp. of historian Dion Cassius and astronomer Hipparchus. Council met, 325.
Nicomedia, Asiatic Turkey. 41N. 30E. F. by Nicomedes I., 264 B.C.; contains ruins of which Pliny the Younger boasted. Bp. of Arrian; res. of Diocletian, and of Constantine who died here; scene of Hannibal's suicide.
Nicosia, Cyprus. 35N. 33E. Capital of Cyprus since time of Lusignan kings. Taken by Richard Cœur de Lion, 1191; besieged by Turks, 1570.
[Nikaria], Asiatic Turkey. 38N. 26E. Island near which it is fabled Icarus met his death.
Nikko ('sun's brightness'), Japan. 37N. 140E. Contains tomb of Iyeyasu, 1617; and that of his grandson, Iyemitsu, slain while visiting tomb of Iyeyasu, 1650. (See Kipling's 'From Sea to Sea.')
[Nineveh], Asiatic Turkey. 36N. 43E. Said to have been f. c. 2680 B.C.; enlarged by Ninus, 1968 B.C. Conquered by Arbaces, 759 B.C.; by Nabopolassar, 625 B.C.; destroyed by Medes and Babylonians, c. 607 B.C. Excavations by Botta, 1842; Layard, 1845; also by Hormuzd Rassam and George Smith. Tobit said to have died here. (See 'Apocrypha.')
[Ning-po] ('calm waves'), China. 30N. 121E. Occupied by Portuguese, 1522; Portuguese massacred, 1545; taken by British, 1842. (See 'Travels of Marco Polo.')
[Nishapur], Persia. 36N. 59E. Famous as bp. of Omar Khayyam, whose tomb is also here. Res. of Nidhami-i-Arudi.
Nisib, Asiatic Turkey. 37N. 38E. Turks defeated by Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha, 1839.
[Nisibin], Asiatic Turkey. 37N. 41E. Captured by Parthians, 149 B.C.; by Lucullus, 68 B.C.; by Trajan, 116; by Lucius Verus, 165; given to Persians by Jovian, 363.