whose site lies about 10 m. S.W. A Hittite-inscribed monument brought perhaps from Tyana, has been found at Nigdeh. The population (20,000) includes a large Greek and a small Armenian community. The Orthodox metropolitan of Iconium resides here.
NIGEL (d. 1169), bishop of Ely, head of the exchequer in the
reigns of Henry I. and Henry II., was brought into the exchequer
in early life (1130). Soon after his uncle Roger of Salisbury
secured him the bishopric of Ely, much to the disgust of the
monks. Nigel was at first retained in Stephen’s service; but,
like his uncle and his brothers, incurred the suspicion of leaning
towards the Angevin interest, when Roger of Salisbury and
Alexander of Lincoln were arrested by Stephen (January 1139).
Nigel attempted to maintain himself in his see by force of arms,
but he was forced to fly to the empress at Gloucester. He
was reconciled to Stephen in 1142 and restored to his see; but
he now became involved in a quarrel with the powerful Henry
of Winchester. Ranulph, his first treasurer and representative
at Ely, had been extortionate and dishonest, and the monks
accused Nigel, probably with some justification, of spending
the estates and treasures of the see in maintaining knights and
gaining court influence. Henry of Winchester, who can have
had little sympathy with bishops of Nigel’s type, took up their
quarrel, and Nigel was forced to go to Rome. Fortunately,
both in these quarrels and in all his difficulties with Stephen,
he secured the strong and uniform support of the Roman Curia.
At the accession of Henry II. (1154) Nigel was summoned to
reorganize the exchequer. He was the only surviving minister
of Henry I., and his knowledge of the exchequer business was
unrivalled. This was the great work of his life. It is to the work
of his son Richard, the Dialogus de Scaccario, that we are indebted
for our knowledge of the procedure of the exchequer as it was
left by Nigel. The bishop took little part in politics, except
as an administrator. In 1166 his health was broken by a paralytic
seizure. Except for another quarrel with his monks, who
accused him of despoiling their church and gained the ear of
Pope Adrian, the last part of his life was laborious and uneventful.
See Dr Liebermann’s Einleitung in den Dialogus de Scaccario; J. H. Round’s Geoffrey de Mandeville.
NIGER, GAIUS PESCENNIUS, governor of Syria under the
emperor Commodus. On the death of Pertinax (A.D. 193),
he was saluted emperor by the troops at Antioch, but unaccountably
delayed marching on Rome until he learned that Septimius
Severus, one of the rival claimants, had assumed the offensive.
He then strongly garrisoned Byzantium and the principal
towns of Asia Minor, but after his legate Aemilianus had been
defeated and slain near Cyzicus he himself was driven from
Nicaea and routed near the Cilician Gates. Having failed in
an effort to escape towards the Euphrates, he was brought back
and put to death in 194.
Aelius Spartianus, Pescennius Niger; Dio Cassius lxxii. 8; lxxiii. 13, 14.
NIGER, a great river of West Africa, inferior only to the
Congo and Nile among the rivers of the continent, and the only
river in Africa which, by means of its tributary the Benue,
affords a waterway uninterrupted by rapids, and available
for shallow-draught steamers, to the far interior. Rising within
150 m. of the sea in the mountainous zone which marks the
N.E. frontiers of Sierra Leone and French Guinea, it traverses
the interior plateaus in a vast curve, flowing N.E., E. and S.E.,
until it finally enters the Gulf of Guinea through an immense
delta. Its total length is about 2600 m. About 250 m. from
its mouth it is joined by the Benue, coming from the east from
the mountainous region of Adamawa. From its mouth to the
limit of navigability from the sea the river is in British territory;
above that point it flows through French territory.
The source of the Niger lies in 9° 5′ N. and 10° 47′ W., and
the most northerly point of the great bend is about 17° N. The
area. of the Niger basin, excluding the arid regions with a
slope towards the stream, has been calculated by Dr. A. Bludau
at 584,000 sq. m. The river is known locally under various
names, the most common being Joliba (a Mandigo word meaning
Great River) and Kworra or Quorra. By the last name the Niger
was known in its lower reaches before its identity with the upper
river was established. The stream considered the chief
source of the Niger is called the Tembi. A narrowThe birth-place of
the river.
watershed separates it from the headwaters of the
streams flowing south-west through Sierra Leone. The
birthplace of the Niger is in a deep ravine 2800 ft. above sea-level.
From a moss-covered rock a tiny spring issues and has
made a pool below. This little stream is the Tembi, which
within a short distance is joined by two other rivulets, the
Tamincono and Falico, which have their origin in the same
mountainous district. After flowing north for about 100 m.,
the river turns eastward and receives several tributaries from
the south. At its confluence with the Tankisso (a northern
tributary), 210 m. from its source, the river has attained dimensions
sufficient to earn for itself the title Joliba. Taking at
this point a decided trend northward, the Niger, 100 m. lower
down, at Bamako—the first considerable town on its banks—has
a depth of 6 ft. with a breadth of 1300 ft. Seven or eight
miles below Bamako the Sotuba rocks mark the end of what may
be considered the upper river. From this point the navigable
portion of the Niger begins. Thirty miles below Sotuba are the
rapids of Tulimandio, but these are navigable when the river
is at its highest, namely from July to October. A little lower
down is Kulikoro, from which point the bed of the stream for
over 1000 m. is fairly free from impediments.
The river here turns more directly to the east and increases in volume and depth. At Sansandig the stream is deep enough to permit of steamers of considerable size plying upon the river. After Sansandig is passed the banks of the stream become low and the Niger is split up into a number of channels. Mopti is at the junction of The middle Niger and lake region. the main stream with a large right-hand backwater or tributary, the Bani or Mahel Balevel, on which is situated the important town of Jenné. The banks of the Niger below Mopti become swampy and treeless, and the first of a series of lakes (Debo) is reached. These lakes are chiefly on the left of the main stream, with which they are connected by channels conveying the water in one direction or the other according to the season. At high water most of these are united into one general inundation. The largest lake, Faguibini, is nearly 70 m. long by 12 m. broad, has high shores and reaches a depth exceeding, in parts, 160 ft. It is not until Kabara, the port of Timbuktu, is reached, a distance of 450 m. from Sansandig, that the labyrinth of lakes, creeks and backwaters ceases. Below Kabara the river reaches its most northerly point. At Bamba it is shut in by steep banks and narrows to 600 to 700 yds., again spreading out some distance down. At Barka (200 m. from Timbuktu) the stream turns south-east and preserves that direction throughout the remainder of its course. At Tosaye, just before the bend becomes pronounced, the Baror and Chabar rocks reduce the width of the river to less than 500 ft., and at low water the strength of the current is a serious danger to navigation. Below Timbuktu for a considerable distance the Niger receives no tributaries; from the north none until the region of the Sahara is passed. In places the desert approaches close to the river on both banks and immense sand dunes fill the horizon.
At Ansongo, 430 m. below Timbuktu, the navigable reach of the middle Niger, in all 1057 m., ends. Four huge flint rocks bar the river at Ansongo and effectually prevent further navigation except in very small vessels. From Ansongo to Say, some 250 m., the river flows through several rocky passes, the current attaining greatBussa rapids and lower river. velocity. Throughout this distance the river is a hopeless labyrinth of rocks, islands, reefs and rapids. From Say, where the stream is about 700 yds. in breadth, to Bussa, there is another navigable stretch of water extending 300 m. After the desert region is past the Niger receives the Waters of the river Sokoto, a considerable stream flowing from the northeast. Some distance below this confluence are the Bussa rapids, which can only be navigated with considerable difficulty. These
