rare, brings storms of hail and even snow in winter. The mistral (from the north-west) and the tramontane (from the north) are generally stopped by the mountains; but when they do reach the city they raise intolerable dust-storms. For two thousand years the climate of Nice has been considered favourable in chest complaints. Those who are requiring rest, and those suffering from gout, asthma, catarrhs, rachitic affections, scrofula, stone, also experience benefit; but the reverse is the case when heart disease, nervous disorders or ophthalmia are concerned. Autumn is the best season; in spring the sudden changes of temperature demand great care. Means of passing the time pleasantly are fairly abundant. The city is at its liveliest during the carnival festivities, in which, as at Rome, battles are waged with sweetmeats and flowers.
History.—Nice (Nicaea) was founded about two thousand years ago by the Phocaeans of Marseilles, and received its name in honour of a victory (νίκη) over the neighbouring Ligurians. It soon became one of the busiest trading stations on the Ligurian coast; but as a city it had an important rival in the town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist till the time of the Lombard invasions, and has left its ruins at Cimiez, 212 m. to the north. In the 7th century Nice joined the Genoese league formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 it repulsed the Saracens; but in 859 and 880 they pillaged and burned it, and for the most of the 10th century remained masters of the surrounding country. During the middle ages Nice had its share in the wars and disasters of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the king of France and the emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of all it maintained its municipal liberties. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries it fell more than once into the hands of the counts of Provence; and at length in 1388 it placed itself under the protection of the counts of Savoy. The maritime strength of Nice now rapidly increased till it was able to cope with the Barbary pirates; the fortifications were largely extended and the roads to the city improved. During the struggle between Francis I. and Charles V. great damage was caused by the passage of the armies invading Provence; pestilence and famine raged in the city for several years. It was in Nice that the two monarchs in 1538 concluded, through the mediation of Paul III., a truce of ten years; and a marble cross set up to commemorate the arrival of the pope still gives its name, Croix de Marbre, to part of the town. In 1543 Nice was attacked by the united forces of Francis I. and Barbarossa; and, though the inhabitants, with admirable courage, repulsed the assault which succeeded the terrible bombardment, they were ultimately compelled to surrender, and Barbarossa was allowed to pillage the city and to carry off 2500 captives. Pestilence appeared again in 1550 and 1580. In 1600 Nice was taken by the duke of Guise. By opening the ports of the countship to all nations, and proclaiming full freedom of trade, Charles Emmanuel in 1626 gave a great stimulus to the commerce of the city, whose noble families took part in its mercantile enterprises. Captured by Catinat in 1691, Nice was restored to Savoy in 1696; but it was again besieged by the French in 1705, and in the following year its citadel and ramparts were demolished. The treaty of Utrecht in 1713 once more gave the city back to Savoy; and in the peaceful years which followed the “new town” was built. From 1744 till the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) the French and Spaniards were again in possession. In 1775 the king of Sardinia destroyed all that remained of the ancient liberties of the commune. Conquered in 1792 by the armies of the French Republic, the county of Nice continued to be part of France till 1814; but after that date it reverted to Sardinia. By a treaty concluded in 1860 between the Sardinian king and Napoleon III. it was again transferred to France, and the cession was ratified by over 25,000 electors out of a total of 30,700.
See L. Durante, Histoire de Nice (3 vols., Turin, 1823–1824); J. N. Fervel, Histoire de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes depuis 21 siècles (Paris, 1862); E. Tisserand, Histoire civile et religieuse de la cité de Nice (2 vols., Nice, 1862); Cartulaire de l’ancienne cathédrale de Nice (Turin, 1888).
NICE, an adjective which in present usage has two main
meanings: (1) fastidious, particular, precise or scrupulous, and
(2) pleasant, kind or agreeable. The first meaning has been
common since the 16th century, the second only since the end
of the 18th. In O. Fr., from which the English form was adapted,
the word is niche or nice, which are derivatives of Lat. nescius,
not knowing, ignorant. The development in meaning is doubtful;
some authorities take it as (1) foolish, (2) foolishly precise,
(3) delicate, (4) pleasant. Skeat suggests an early confusion
with the word “nesh,” soft, delicate, still surviving dialectically.
NICEPHORUS, the name of three emperors of the East.
Nicephorus I., emperor 802–811, was a native of Seleucia in Pisidia, who was raised by the empress Irene to the office of logothetes or lord high treasurer. With the help of the patricians and eunuchs he contrived to dethrone and exile Irene, and to be elected emperor in her stead. His sovereignty was endangered by Bardanes, one of his ablest generals, who revolted and received support from other commanders, notably the later emperors Leo the Armenian and Michael the Amorian. But Nicephorus gained over the latter two, and by inducing the rebel army to disperse achieved the submission of Bardanes, who was relegated to a monastery. A conspiracy headed by the patrician Arsaber had a similar issue. Nicephorus, who needed large sums to strengthen his military force, set himself with great energy to increase the empire’s revenue. By his rigorous imposts he alienated the favour of his subjects, and especially of the clergy, whom he otherwise sought to control firmly. In 803 and 810 he made a treaty with Charlemagne, by which the limits of the two empires were amicably fixed. Venice, Istria, the Dalmatian coast and South Italy were assigned to the East, while Rome, Ravenna and the Pentapolis were included in the Western realm. By withholding the tribute which Irene had agreed to pay to Harun al-Rashid, Nicephorus committed himself to a war with the Saracens. Compelled by Bardanes’s disloyalty to take the field himself, he sustained a severe defeat at Crasus in Phrygia (805), and the subsequent inroads of the enemy into Asia Minor induced him to make peace on condition of paying a yearly contribution of 30,000 gold pieces. By the death of Harun in 809, Nicephorus was left free to deal with the Bulgarian king, Krum, who was harassing his northern frontiers. In 811 Nicephorus invaded Bulgaria and drove Krum to ask for terms, but in a night attack he allowed himself to be surprised and was slain along with a large portion of his army. Krum is said to have made a drinking cup of Nicephorus’s skull.
Nicephorus II. (Phocas), emperor 963–969, belonged to a Cappadocian family which had produced several distinguished generals. He was born about 912, joined the army at an early age, and, under Constantine VII., became commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Saracens he began with a severe defeat (956), which he retrieved in the years following by victories in Syria. In 960 he led an expedition to Crete, stormed Candia after a ten months’ siege, and wrested the whole island from the Saracens. After receiving the unusual honours of a triumph, he returned to the east with a large and well-equipped army. In the campaigns of 962–63 by brilliant strategy he forced his way through Cilicia into Syria and captured Aleppo, but made no permanent conquests. Upon the death of Romanus II. he returned to Constantinople to defend himself against the intrigues of the minister Bringas. With the help of the regent Theophano and the patriarch, he received supreme command of the eastern forces, and being proclaimed emperor by these marched upon the capital, where meanwhile his partisans had overthrown his enemy Bringas. Thanks to his popularity with the army, Nicephorus was crowned emperor by the side of Romanus’s infant sons, and in spite of the patriarch’s opposition married their mother Theophano. During his reign he continued to wage numerous wars. In 964–966 he definitely conquered Cilicia and again overran Mesopotamia and Syria, While the patrician Nicetas recovered Cyprus. In 968 he reduced most of the fortresses in Syria, and after the fall of Antioch and Aleppo (969), which were recaptured by his lieutenants, secured his conquests by a peace. On his northern frontier he began a war against the Bulgarians, to whom the Byzantines had of late been paying tribute (967), and by instigating an attack from the
