Nadir Shah \na-'der-'sha\ (b. Oct.
22, 1688, Kobhan, Safavid Iran—d.
June 1747, near Fathabad) Iranian conqueror and ruler. Originally a bandit of the Turkish Afshar tribes, he helped restore Tahmasp II of the Safavid dynasty to Iran’s throne, defeating the Ghilzay Afghan usurper Mahmud. He later deposed Tahmasp II to place the latter’s infant son on the throne; he made himself regent, then deposed the son and took the throne himself in 1736.
He engaged in constant warfare with his neighbours, enlarging his empire from the Indus River to the Cauca-
Nabokov, 1968
© PHILIPPE HALSMAN
Nadir Shah, painting by an unknown artist, c. 1740; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON
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1322 I NAFTA ► Nahua
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sus Mountains. Suspicious of those around him and capriciously cruel, he was assassinated by his own troops.
NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world’s largest free-trade area. It basically extended to Mexico the provisions of a 1988 Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement, calling for elimination of all trade bar¬ riers over a 15-year period, granting U.S. and Canadian companies access to certain Mexican markets, and incorporating agreements on labour and the environment. See also General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; World Trade Organization.
Nag Ham mad i \'nag-ham-'ma-de\ Town in Upper Egypt on the Nile. In 1945 a collection of 13 codices containing 53 Gnostic texts (scriptures and commentaries) was found nearby at the site of an ancient settlement on the river’s eastern bank. Written in the Coptic language, the texts were composed in the 2nd or 3rd century and copied in the 4th century. They include accounts of the life of Jesus and his sayings after his resurrection, predictions of the apocalypse, and theological treatises. As the only sur¬ viving documents written by Gnostics themselves, they constitute a major source of knowledge about Gnosticism.
naga Vna-go\ In Hindu and Buddhist mythology, a semidivine being, half human and half serpent. Nagas can assume either wholly human or wholly serpentine form. They live in an underground kingdom filled with beautiful palaces that are adorned with gems. Brahma is said to have rel¬ egated the naga s to the nether regions and to have commanded them to bite only the truly evil or those destined to die prematurely. Nagas are also associated with waters—rivers, lakes, seas, and wells—and are regarded as guardians of treasure. In Buddhism it is believed that the snake king sheltered the Buddha from rain for seven days while he was medi¬ tating.
Naga Hills Hill region, northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar (Burma). A northern extension of the Arakan Mountains system, the hills reach a height of 12,552 ft (3,826 m) at Mount Saramati on the frontier. The densely forested hills receive heavy monsoon rains. The area is inhab¬ ited by tribes of Naga peoples living in small villages.
Nagaland State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,988,636), northeastern India. It borders Myanmar (Burma) and the states of Manipur, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh and has an area of 6,401 sq mi (16,579 sq km). Its capital is Kohima. Except for a small area of plain, the entire state is cov¬ ered with ranges of hills that are northward extensions of the Arakan Mountains system. Myanmar ruled the region from 1819 to 1826, when the British began annexing its hill areas. The Naga people accepted state¬ hood within an independent India in 1963. There are more than 20 major Naga tribes and subtribes, with different dialects and customs. About two- thirds are Christian, and most others are Hindu or Muslim. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Crops include rice, millet, sugarcane, pota¬ toes, and tobacco.
Nagarjuna \na-'gar-ju-n9\ (b. 150—d. c. 250) Indian monk and phi¬ losopher, founder of the Madhyamika school of Buddhism. Born into a Brahman family, he underwent a spiritual conversion when he studied the doctrines of Mahay ana Buddhism. His Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way and The Dialectical Method are critical analyses of false views about how existence arises, the means of knowledge, and the nature of reality. He established the concept of sunyata—emptiness, or the lack of an absolute reality behind the changing forms of existence—as a fun¬ damental tenet of the Madhyamika school.
Nagasaki City (pop., 2003 est.: 418,523), western Kyushu, Japan. It is a seaport and commercial city at the mouth of the Urakami River, where it empties into Nagasaki Harbour. It was the only Japanese port open to foreign trade in 1639-1859. After the Portuguese and English traders were expelled in 1639, only the Dutch, Chinese, and Koreans were allowed into the harbour. In the 19th century it was the winter port of the Russian Asiatic fleet (until 1903). It became a major shipbuilding centre in the early 20th century. In 1945 the second atomic bomb attack was carried out there by the U.S. during World War II; some 40,000 were killed immediately, up to 40,000 more died soon after, and many more were injured. The bomb also destroyed about 40% of the city’s buildings. Nagasaki has been rebuilt and is a spiritual centre for movements to ban NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
Nagorno-Karabakh Region (pop., 2002 est.: 144,300), southwest¬ ern Azerbaijan. It occupies an area of about 1,700 sq mi (4,400 sq km) on the northeastern flank of the Karabakh Range. The region was formerly part of Iran but was annexed by Russia in 1813. In 1923 it was estab¬ lished as an autonomous province of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. In 1988 the region’s Armenian majority demonstrated against Azerbaijanian rule, and in 1991 (after the breakup of the Soviet Union) war broke out between the two ethnic groups. Since 1994 it has been controlled by ethnic Arme¬ nians, though officially it remains part of Azerbaijan.
Nagoya City (pop., 2000 prelim.: 2,171,378), southern Honshu, Japan. Located east of Kyoto, at the head of Ise Bay, it is one of Japan’s leading industrial cities. Manufactures include textiles, watches, bicycles, sewing machines, machine tools, chemicals, and ceramics. The city dates from 1610, when a great castle was erected by the Owari branch of the Tokugawa shogunate; the castle was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1959. The city’s educational and cultural institutions include Nagoya University and the Tokugawa Art Museum. The Atsuta Shrine and the Ise Shrine located there are the oldest and most highly esteemed Shinto shrines in Japan.
Nagpur \'nag-,pur\ City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 2,051,320), northeastern Maharashtra state, India. It is situated along the Nag River, almost at the geographic centre of India. Founded in the 18th century by a Gond prince, it became the capital of members of the Maratha confederacy. In the 19th century it was under British control. The city’s products include textiles, iron goods, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, cotton, and oranges. It is dominated by the centrally located former British fort. It is an educa¬ tional and cultural centre.