Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/678

* NISH. 578 NISSA. Nish is the Xiassus of the Komans, a prom- inent city, according to Ptolemy, and the birth- place of Constantine the Great. It fell in 1456 into the hands of the Tiirks. under whom it was an important stronjfhold. It was the scene of a severe defeat of the .Servians by the Turks in ISOil, and was captured by the Servians under ]Mihin in 1S7S. NISHAN EL-AAMAN", ni-shiUi' el a-miin' (Ar. nishuii al-iimun, order of the best). A Tunisian order Avith one class founded by ^lo- hammcd-es-Sadok in 1859 in commemoration of the adoption of the Constitution. NISHAN EL-IFTIKHAR, if'ti Kiir' (Ar. nisliiin (il-iftilidr. unlcr of lionor). A Tunisian order of merit, civil and military, modeled on the French Legion of Honor, foiuided by Ahmed Bey. It has live classes. The decoration is a star with the Bcv's monogram. NISHAN EL-IFTIKHAR. A Turkish or- der, conferred on foreigners for services to the Turkish State. It was founded by Sultan Selim III. and renewed in 1827. The decoration is an ornate medallion with the Sultan's monogram suspended from tlie star and crescent. NISHAN-I-IMTIAS, W-m'te-iis' (Ar.-Pers. nishfin-i-imtiyus, order of excellence). A Turk- ish order of merit conferred on civil and military oHieials who have displayed at least three of the qualities the names of which appear on the deco- ration: patriotism, zeal, bravery, and tidelity. It was founded in 1879 by Sultan Abdul Hamid. NISHAN-I-SHEFKAT, f-shef-kiit' (Ar.- Pers. iiisii(iii-i-Klilf(i(it, order of clemency). A Turkish order with three classes, conferred on women for services in war and in times of dis- tress. It was founded by Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1878. The decoration is a sun with laurel wreath and star suspended from a crescent. NISHAPTJR, nTsh'a-])oor'. A town of North- eastern Persia, in the Province of Khorasan (Map: Persia, G 3). It is situated in a fertile and populous plain 40 miles west of Jleshed, and is surrounded by half-ruined walls. It was for- merly one of the most important cities of Persia, but has greatly declined. It still has some trade in turquoises. Population, about 11.000. Xi.slia- pur was the birthplace of Omar Khayyam. NIS'IBIS (Lat., from Gk. N/o-i/Sis). The capi- tal of ancient ilygdonia, the northeastern part of Jlesopotamia. It was situated in a fertile district, and was of importance, both as a ])lace of strength and as ;ui emporium of the trade between the East and the West. Nisibis is men- tioned in the cuneiform inscriptions under the name Nasibina. It seems to have been re- built by Seleueus, and during the ilacedonian rule was known as Antiochia Miiridoniw. It was taken in n.r. 149 by the Parthians. and in their wars with Rome changed bands more than once, being captured by Lticullus ( n.c. (iS) and again by Trajan (A.n. 110). After its third capture by T,ucius Verus, A.n. 105. it remained the chief bulwark of the Roman Empire against the Persians, till it was surrendered to them by Jovian after the death of .Tulian in ."ifiS. Nisibin is still the name of a Turkish village near the ruins (if the aniient city. NISI PRIUS (Lat., unless before). A term applied to certain trial courts, consisting of one judge and a jury, which have jurisdiction for the trial of civil cases. The term originated in England through the practice of inserting in writs of venire (q.v.). by which jurors were summcmed, a clause directing them to appear at the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster on a certain date, unless before (nisi frrius) that time one of the judges in Eyre (circuit) should hold court in their county. It also be- came common, when cases from a distant county were connnenced at Westminster, to fi.x a cer- tain day on which they were to be tried unless before that time court was held in that coun- ty, and this was entered on the record, being known as the 'Xisi jjriiis clause.' This practice was sanctioned by the statute of 13 Edw. I., c. 30, known as the" "Statute of Xisi Prius." The sessions held by these circuit judges came to be known as Xisi Prius Courts, and this continued until after the sittings of the judges became fixed and certain, when the alternative phrase was omitted from the venire ; and thereafter the use of the terra as applied to the courts was gradually discontinued. To-day the cases tried before the judges of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in London are known as nisi prius actions, and this seems to be the only use of the term which has judicial sanction in England at present, although in the country districts the name is still popularly ap- plied to the proceedings in the civil courts held in the various circuits under the .Judicature Acts (q.v.K In a few of the United States the term is applied to certain civil courts, the ses- sions of which are held by judges who travel from one county to ;iniither, in a fixed circuit of several counties, during the year; but the orig- inal significance of the term has become obso- lete. See CiBcuiT; COURT; JiDicATiRE Acts, and consult the autlunities there referred to. NISQUAXLI, niz'kwiile. A Salishan tribe of North American Indians originally occupying the territory' about the river of the same name at the southern end of Puget Sound, Washington. With the Puyallup (q.v.) and several smaller bands, all speaking dialects of the same lan- guage, they participated in the Jledicine Creek Treaty of 1854 and were assigned to a reserva- tion. l)Ut have recently been given industrial allotments and are now citizens. They subsisted chielly upon wappato and camas roots, wild ber- ries, and salmon. They lived in great commimal houses of cedar planks and used cedar dugout canoes of elaborate workmanship and ornamen- tation. Slavery was a regular institution, and head-llattcning was practiced, but not scalping. They btiricd their dead in canoes raised u]ion posts. They took i)arl in the general Indian war in Washington in 1858. They number now oidy about 100 souls. NIS'ROCH (Heb. Msrok). According to II. Kings xix. .'(7 (Is. xxxvii. 38), the god in whosc^ temple Sennacherib was assassinated by his sons. No such god. however, has been discovered in the Assyrian pantheon, and the word is manifestly a corruiition. It has been variously identified with Asshur. Nusku, and others, but most i)robably it represents ilarduk, the chief of the later Babylonian pantheon. (See MKRonACTl.) For a like corruption, see Nnnion. Consult Chevne. Snmil liookx of the Old Trstamint (London. 189G, ct scq.). NISSA, nis'si. A city of Servia. See NiSH.