James Noimyth, 

 British engineer 



NASMYTH 



H. Gaskell, worked up a prosperous 

 burin nss In 1842 ho patented 

 the steam hanimor by which 

 his name is 

 best known. 

 His claim to 

 this was dis- 

 puted, as the 

 French manu- 

 faoturer 

 Schneider had 

 copied the de- 

 si gn from 

 Nasmyth' s 

 notebook and 

 built one at his Creusot works be- 

 fore Nasmyth erected his in Eng- 

 l.-uiil. II'- invented various tools 

 and mechanical appliances, and 

 constructed a telescope to assist his 

 astronomical studies. His observa- 

 tions were recorded in The Moon 

 considered as a Planet, a World, and 

 a Satellite, 1874, illustrated with 

 photographs. He died May 7, 1890. 

 Nasmyth, PATRICK, OR PETER 

 (17S7 ls:U). British painter. 

 Born at Edinburgh, a son of Alex- 

 ander N a s- 

 mytli, he was 

 mainly self- 

 taught. An 

 early accident 

 compelled him 

 to use his left 

 hand in paint- 

 ing. In 1807 

 he settled in 

 London, 

 where, on ac- 

 count of his imitation of the Dutch 

 school, he was acclaimed as the 

 English Hobbema. He exhibited 

 at the R.A. from 1809, and was 

 an original member of the Society 

 of British Artists. He died in 

 Lambeth, Aug. 17, 1831. 



Nasr-ed-Din (1831-96). Shah 

 of Persia. Son of Mahomed Mirza, 

 he was born July 17, 1831, and suc- 

 ceeded to the 

 throne, 1848. 

 Settling a 1 1 

 internal' un- 

 rest with an 

 iron hand, he 

 placed his 

 throne in 

 friendly rela- 

 tions with 

 France and 

 Russia ; but 

 his attempt to annex Herat (q.v. ) 

 brought him into conflict with 

 Britain, 1856-57. A man of en- 

 lightenment and culture, his visits 

 to Europe, 1873, 1878, and 1889, 

 strengthened his endeavours to 

 introduce reforms into Persia. 

 Religious toleration, the telegraph, 

 banking organization, and a post 

 office were established, despite 

 opposition. He was assassinated 

 by a religious fanatic, May 1, 1896. 



Patrick Nasmyth. 

 British painter 



Nasr-ed-Din, 

 Shah ol Persia 



C043 



Nasrieh nit NASIUIYEH. Town of 

 Mesopotamia. It stands on the 

 I,O\YIT KuphratcR, at the 8. ex- 

 t rrinity of the Shat-el-Hai (q.v.), 

 about 100 m. N. W. of Basra. It is 

 of recent origin, supplanting Sa- 

 mawa, which had bcn-n tin dm f 

 place in that region. During tin- 

 Turkish rdgimc before tin 

 War it was the headquarters of the 

 civil administration of a large dis- 

 trict. It is well built, with wide 

 strrrtH, is the centre of a rich agri- 

 cultural region, and has a large 

 trade. It was occupied by the 

 British on July 26, 1915. 



Nasrieh, BATTLE or. Fought 

 between the British and the Turks, 

 July 24-25, 1915. On June 3, 1915, 

 the British had taken Amara and 

 dispersed the Turks coming from 

 Ahwaz. There then remained the 

 enemy force which held Nasrieh, 

 and Sir John Nixon decided to 

 attack it and occupy the town. 

 The country between Nasrieh and 

 Kurna was inundated, and naval 

 officers and men on light-draught 

 vessels formed a considerable part 

 of the force, underGeneralGorringe, 

 which Nixon concentrated at 

 Kurna for the effort towards the 

 end of June. The Turks had sown 

 the waters with mines, and the 

 heat was terrific, but in the second 

 week of July Gorringe, after some 

 sharp fighting, found the enemy 

 strongly entrenched 5 m. to the S. 

 in a formidable position, its front 

 on both banks of the river being 

 protected by deep channels, and 

 its flanks resting on marshes. 



After an unsuccessful attempt to 

 turn it on his left, Gorringe passed 

 several days in making final prepa- 

 rations for the decisive assault, de- 

 livered on July 24. The Turks, after 

 a stubborn resistance, were driven 

 from trench after trench by the 

 British, including English and In- 

 dian troops. The naval flotilla co- 

 operated, and the engagement 

 closed in the defeat of the enemy, 

 who abandoned Nasrieh. which 

 was occupied on July 25. The Brit- 

 ish casualties were under 600. The 

 Turks left 500 dead, and lost 1,000 

 prisoners, besides 17 guns. See 

 Mesopotamia, Conquest of. 



Nassarawa. Prov. of N. Nigeria. 

 It lies along the N. bank of the 

 Benue river, and has an area of 

 17,900 sq. m. A mountainous region, 

 it has extensive forests and con- 

 tains many fertile river valleys. 

 Its chief centres are Nassarawa, 

 90 m. N.E. of Lokoja, Keffi, Lafia, 

 Jemaa, and Abuja. Rubber and 

 cotton are among its products. 

 The country was occupied at 

 different times by independent or 

 semi-independent tribes until, in 

 1840, much of it was conquered by 

 the Fula. Soon the British had 



NASSAU 



interests therein, and in 1900 the 

 Fula began to attack them, a 

 British resident. Captain Maloney, 

 being murdered at Keffi in 1902. 

 The result was the conquest of the 

 country and the submission of the 

 Fula to the British. Pop. 160.000. 

 Kee Nigeria. 



Nassau. District of Germany, 

 now part of the Prussian prov. of 

 Hesse-Nassau. From it the family 

 of Orange-Nassau took the title of 

 count and duke. It was an inde- 

 pendent state until 1866. Nassau 

 lies between the Main and the 

 Rhine, with the Lahn flowing 

 through it. Ite area is about 1,800 

 sq. m., and it had in 1866 nearly 

 500,000 inhabitants. It takes its 

 name from the little town of 

 Nassau on the Lahn, where the 

 ruling family built their castle, 

 but Wiesbaden was the capital 



The family of Nassau dates from 

 about 1200. To a younger branch 

 belonged William the Silent, and 

 other princes of the house of 

 Orange-Nassau. This became ex- 

 tinct when William "III died in 

 1702, and its lands passed to a 

 branch still in Nassau. This lost 

 all its lands in 1806, but in 1815 

 its head, William, was made king of 

 the Netherlands and grand duke 

 of Luxemburg. His family, extinct 

 in the male line in 1890, was re- 

 presented in the female line by Wil- 

 helmina, queen of the Netherlands. 

 The other branch of the family, 

 having produced a German king 

 in Adolpb of Nassau (d. 1298), 

 was divided into several lines Two 

 of these were made princes of the 

 empire, and in 1806 Napoleon 

 made them dukes. In 1816, having 

 been granted the lands taken from 

 the other branch of the family 

 in 1806, Frederick William, as the 

 result of a succession of deaths, 

 became the sole ruler of Nassau. 

 He called himself duke of Nassau, 

 joined the German Confederation, 

 and gave a constitution to his 

 people. In 1866 the duke joined 

 Austria in fighting against Prussia ; 

 consequently he lost his duchy. In 

 1890 the head of this family be- 

 came grand duke of Luxemburg. 

 See Netherlands ; Orange. 



Nassau. City, seaport, and 

 chief town of New Providence 

 (q.v.), and capital of the Bahama 

 Islands, B.W.I. It stands on a 

 declivity of the N.E. coast, has a 

 sheltered harbour, wherein vessels 

 drawing 16 ft. of water may 

 anchor, and is defended by forts. 

 Prominent buildings include gov- 

 ernment house, a cathedral and 

 other churches. It is a winter re- 

 sort for invalids. It exports much 

 local produce, including sponges, 

 cotton, fruits, and salt. Founded 

 by the English in 1629, it was 



