Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/666

Rh 608 N O V N O V and it was intermediary in the trade of Constantinople with northern Europe. The rich gifts offered by the corporations to the churches of Novgorod are a present testimony of the ancient wealth of the city. The Novgorod uksliuyniki (who often associated robbery with trade) at an early date penetrated to the shores of the White Sea, hunted on Novaya Zemlya in the llth century, colonized the basins of the northern Dwina, descended the Volga, and, as early as the 14th century, extended their dominions over the &quot;Ugra,&quot; beyond the Ural, into Siberia. The Zavolotchie, or the basin of the northern Dwina, was early colonized, and forts were erected to maintain the dominions, while two great colonies, Vyatka and Vologda, organized on the same republican principles as the metropolis, favoured the further colonization of north-eastern Russia. At the same time a number of flourishing minor towns (priaprody), such as Novyi Torg (Torzhok), Novaya Ladoga, Pskov, and many others, arose in the lake region. Pskov soon became quite inde pendent of the metropolis, and had a history of its own ; the others enjoyed a large measure of independence, still figuring, however, as subordinate towns in all those circumstances which implied a com mon action of the whole region. Several contemporary testimonies state the population of Novgorod in the 14th century to have reached 400, 000, and add that the pestilences of 1467, 1508, and 1533 carried off no fewer than 134,000 persons. These figures, however, seem to relate rather to the Ilmen region ; but it may be safely admitted that, before the visitations referred to, the city, with the suburbs, had a population of nearly 100,000, Throughout its history Novgorod has had to sustain many con tests. Its struggle against the Suzdal region began as early as the 12th century. In the following century it had to contend with the Swedes and the Germans, who were animated not only by the desire of territorial extension throughout the lake region but also by the spirit of religious proselytism. The advances of both were checked by the battles at Ladoga and Pskov in 1240 and 1242. Protected as it was by its marshes, Novgorod escaped the Mongol invasion, and was able to repel the attacks of the princes of Moscow by whom the Mongols were supported ; but it was compelled to pay a tribute, which soon became a tribute to Moscow (end of the 14th century). It also successfully resisted the attacks of Tver, and aided Moscow in its struggle against this powerful neighbour, but it soon itself experienced the power of the growing Moscow state. The first serious invasion of its independence, in 1332, was turned back only with the aid of the Lithuanians. But a severe blow was inflicted in 1456 by the Great Prince of Moscow, Vasilii Temnyi, who, taking advantage of the internal troubles of the city, and finding supporters among the Novgorod boyars, succeeded in im posing a heavy tribute. Ivan III. took possession of the Zavo lotchie colonies and the Perm region, and began two bloody wars, during which Novgorod fought for its liberty under the leadership of Martha Posadnitsa. In 1475 Ivan III. entered Novgorod, abol ished its charters, and carried away 1000 of the wealthier families, substituting for them families from Moscow ; the old free city now recognized his sovereignty. A century later Ivan IV. (the Terrible) abolished the last vestige of the independence of the city. Hav ing learned of the existence of a party favourable to Lithuania, he took the field in 1570, and entered Novgorod (much weakened by the recent pestilences) without opposition. His followers seized nearly all the heads of monasteries and beat them to death with sticks. At a given signal a general pillage began : the shops were destroyed, the merchandize thrown out, the wealthier of the mer chants and clergy killed and thrown into the Volkhoff, whilst other plundering parties burned and pillaged all stores in the villages. No less than 15,000 men, women, and children were killed at Novgorod alone (60,000 according to some authorities). A. famine ensued, and the district of Novgorod fell into utter destitution. Thousands of families were transported to Moscow, Nijni-Novgorod, and other towns of the principality of Moscow. In the beginning of the 17th century Novgorod was taken and held for seven years by the Swedes; and in the 18th century the founda tion of St Petersburg ultimately destroyed its trade. Its position, however, on the water highway from the Volga to St Petersburg, and on the trunk road from Moscow to the capital, still gave it some commercial importance ; but even this was brought to an end by the opening of the Vishera canal and the Nicholas Railway, which passes 45 miles to the east of Novgorod. (P. A. K. ) NOVI, or (to distinguish it from Novi di Modena, &c.) Novi LIGURE, a city of Italy, in the province of Alessan dria (Piedmont), at the foot of the Apennines and on the edge of a fertile plain, about 20 miles south of the river Po. It is of importance mainly as the meeting-place of the railways from Alessandria, Genoa, and Piacenza, and is one of the leading seats of the silk industry in Italy. The ruins of its ancient castle, its collegiate church, the Piazza del Duomo with its central marble fountain, and some of the picturesque old palaces of the Genoese nobility are the chief objects of interest, though the city also possesses its theatres, public library, antiquarian museum, literary academy, etc. The population of the city was 9917 in 1881 ; that of the commune 11,445 in 1861, and 13,783 in 1881. Novi begins to appear as Corte Nova in the 10th century, and in the Middle Ages it was a frequent object of dispute between Tortona, Milan, Pavia, and Genoa. In 1480 Nicolao Ghirardengo, a native of the town, set up his printing-press within its walls. In August 1799 was fought the great battle of Novi, in which the French under Joubert were defeated by the Russians under SuwarofT, and in November of the same year there was a lesser conflict, in which the French proved victorious over the Austrians. NOVIBAZAR, NOVIPAZAR, or YENIPAZAR (i.e., New Market), on the Rashka, a tributary of the Ibar and sub tributary of the Danube, is the chief town of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Bosnia (formerly of Kossovo), which was occupied by Austria -Hungary in 1879 in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Berlin. Owing to the configuration of the country it is a point of great strategical importance, commanding the lines of communi cation between Bosnia and Rumelia, and between Servia and Montenegro. The site was formerly occupied by the old Servian town of Rassia mentioned by Byzantine writers in the 9th century. In the neighbourhood is the old church of St Peter and St Paul, the metropolitan church of the bishopric of Rassia, in which Stephen Nemanya passed from the Roman to the Greek Church in 1143. According to Dr Blau, the sanjak had a male population of 83,983 in 1871, that of the town is estimated at from 9000 to 12,000, NOVO-BAYAZET, or NOVUII BAYAZET, a town of trans -Caucasian Russia, at the head of a district (area 2390 square miles, population 67,800) in the Erivan government, 60 miles east-north-east of Erivan, and about 4 east of Goktchi Lake, lies 5870 feet above the sea on the rocky ravine of the Kavar-tchai. An Armenian village which had stood here from an early date was destroyed by Nadir Shah of Persia in 1736, and it was not till the Turkish war of 1828-29 that the site was again occupied by Armenian refugees from the Turkish town of Bayazet or Bayazid. The name Novuii Bayazet was adopted at the organization of the Erivan government in 1850. From 4518 in 1865 the population had increased by 1873 to 5363, still mainly Armenians. There are seventeen villages in the district, each with more than 1000 inhabitants, NOVOGEORGIEVSK, a town, and a fortress of Russia. (1) The former, usually known under the name of Kriloff, in the government of Kherson, district of Alexandriya, stands at the junction of the Tyasmin with the Dnieper, 9 miles to the north-west of the Krementchug railway station. Its fort was erected by the Poles in 1615 to protect the passage across the Dnieper, and to guard the steppe on the left bank of the river. The 10,500 inhabit ants of Kriloff now carry on a lively trade in timber, grain, and cattle, and have a few flour -mills and candle- works. (2) NOVOGEORGIEVSK or MODLIN is a first-class fortress of Russia in Poland, at the junction of the Nareff with the Vistula, 19 miles to the north-west of Warsaw. It constitutes the right flank of the line of defence of the Vistula against attack from the west, the centre of this line being at Warsaw, and the left flank at Ivangorod ; 12,000 men are needed for its defence, and the fortifica tions can shelter from 48,000 to 50,000 men. The small town of Novoye Myesto, opposite the fortress, has 5500 inhabitants. NOVOMOSKOVSK, a district town of Russia, in the government of Ekaterinoslaff, 19 miles to the north-east of the capital of the province. Including several villages which have been incorporated with it, it extends for nearly 7 miles along the right bank of the Samara, a tributary