Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/671

NIMES. 571 NINE-EYES. (Xliiies, 1880-88) ; Bazin, Ximes gallo-romain U'aii', 1801). NIMRA'VUS (Xeo-Lat, from yimr-od + Lilt. ((iH.s. uiucstoi) . A fossil cat found in the John Day iliuoone beds of Western North Ameri- ca. See Sabrk-Toothed Tigkh. NIM'KOD (Heb. XlmrOd). According to (iiii. . .S seq. (I. Chron. i. 10), the founder of the Babylonian, and hiter of the Assyrian Empire; also "a niighly hunter before Jehovah." No ex- ]ilaiialion of the name and legend has as yet received cunnnon assent. The mythical theory which found in Ninirod Orion or the sun is now ' generally abandoned, and the dispute lies be- tween a mythological and an historical per- sonage. (1) According to the mythological view, Nimrod is identified either with the Babylonian god Jlariluk, a theory which would well explain his name, through the correspondence of three radicals (see Niskoch), or he is identified with Gilgamesh (q.v.), the hero of the Babj'lonian epic, who appears typically in art as engaged in combat with a wild beast, and is associated with Erech, one of Nimrod's cities. (2) Advo- cates of the historical view seek, by reason of the e.xact historical details, a character in Babylo- nian annals whose name may be the original of Nimrod. Such a person is suggested in a cer- tain Kassite King of Babylonia of the fourteenth century B.C., Nazi-marattash (the latter com- ponent being supposed to be a god of hunting). But at present under any theory the legend must be regarded as made up of several sources. Yet, while the name is a problem, the biblical refer- ence is of great interest as giving a correct tradition of e^arly Babylonian history. Cush, the father of Nimrod, is now identified with the Kassites, an Elamitic race, which ruled Babylonia for the greater part of the second millennium ij.c. (See Kassites.) The four cities of Nim- rod's kingdom mentioned in Genesis x. 10 are ancient and famous. That "out of that land he went forth into Assyria [the proper translation], and built Nineveh," etc. (Gen. x. 11-12), corre- sponds with the facts of the ethnical and social origin of Assyria from Babylonia. Of the four cities here mentioned, Rehoboth and Resen are not yet identified. In Micah v. 0, "the land of Nimrod" is in parallelism to "the land of Assyria." The characterization of Nimrod as a huntsman (an ancient and doubtless pre-lsraelite saying), would be appropriate to a mythological character or to many an Oriental monarch. The mythological cx])re.ssion "a mighty hunter before .fehovah" would mean that Ninirod attracted the attention of the deities by his prowess, or even rivaled them in the art of hunting. Con- sult: Maspero, Daicn of Civilizaiion (London, 1804) ; Savce. Patriarchal Palestine (London, 18!!.") ) . NIM'RUD. The modern name of a moinid on the cast bank of the Tigris, about 20 miles below Mosul (Map: Turkey in Asia, K 4), marking the ruins of an ancient Assyrian city identical with Calah (q.v.) mentioned in Gen. x. 11. It is one of a group of cities which clustered around Nine- veh and may be regarded as a suburb of the lat- ter. The chief discoveries were made at Ximrud by Layard in 1845-47 and 184n-.'51, though there were also later excavations by George Smith and Rassam. The city was a quadrangle about five miles in circumference, surrounded by a wall Vol. XIV.— a?. with towers. The most important buildings dis- covered were: (1) a stage-tower (xik-kiirrat) at the northwest corner of the mound ; ( 2 ) temples near the tower, in which valuable inscriptions were found; (3) the so-called northwest palace built by Assurnazirpa! (B.C. 8S.i-8G0). and re- stored by Sargon I n.i'. 722-705), 3.50 feet square; the sculptures found here were particularly fine and instructive, and there was a rich harvest of small objects of art, utensils of daily life, tools, armor, and the like; (4) the centre palace (of Shalmaneser II., B.C. 800-825, rebuilt by Tiglath- pileser III., B.C. 745-727) ; here was found one of the nio.st interesting of all Assyriological monuments — the famous black obelisk of Shal- maneser II., now in the British Museum, which gives an account of the campaigns of the King during thirty-one years of his reign; (5) the southwest palace (Esarhaddon's, B.C. 681-668), built with materials taken from the northwest and centre palaces; (6) the southeast palace (Asshuretililani's. after B.C. 625) ; (7) a temple of Nebo, at first wrongly called the tomb of Sar- danapalus. The history of Calah has been traced back to Shalmaneser 1. (c.l300 B.C.), who calls himself its builder. It was afterwards neglected for a time, but was rebuilt by Assurnazirpal and was the capital of the Empire for two cen- turies. About B.C. 700 it gave way to Nineveh, and was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians when they conquered Assyria. For bibliography, see NiXEVEii; see also Assyria; Assyrian Art. NIMWEGEN, nim'wa-gen. A city of the Netherlands. See Nimeguen. NINDE, nlnd, William Xavier (1832-1001). A bishop of the Jlethodist Episcopal Church. He was born at Cortland, N. Y., and grad- uated from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., in 1855. After teaching for a year at Rome, N. Y'., he entered the ministry. In 1861 he was sent to a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained a pastor in that city until 1868, %xhen he went abroad for travel through Europe and the East. The remainder of his pastoral life was spent in Detroit at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. His terms here were divided by a period spent as professor of practical the- ology in Garrett Biblical Institute at Evanston, 111. This institution called him to its presi- dency in 1870, and here he remained until 1884, when he was chosen a bishop of the Metliodist Ejnseopal Church. He was one of the organizers of the Epworth League and its second president. He died at Detroit, jlich. Consult the memoir by his daughter (New Y'ork, 1002). NINDEMANN, nin'dc-man, Wilrelm Fried- rich Carl (1850 — ). A German-American Arc- tie explorer, born at Gingst, island of Riigen. When seventeen, he came to the L'nitcd States. He joined the Polaris expedition, and in 1872. when the vessel was caught in the ice. with eigh- teen of the crew he was carried on an ice field for nearly seven months. He was rescued ofT Labra- dor by the Tifjressi: volunteered on that vessel and afterwards on tie Jcannetle in the search for the Polaris; and after the loss of the Jrnnnette was sent south for help by De Long, in the quest for whom he later joined. Nindemann wrote in (Tcrman a description of his Arctic voyages (1885). NINE-EYES. In England, a lamprey (q.v.).