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Nicias
Athenian leader. He was renowned for his enormous wealth. Seeking to end the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), in 421 he negotiated a 50-year alliance (the Peace of Nicias), which held for six years before the ambitions of Alcibiades led to renewed warfare. In 415 he reluctantly shared command of a Sicilian expedition with Lamachus and Alcibiades. When Alcibiades was recalled and Lamachus died, Nicias lost the advantage they had achieved in the siege of Syracuse; when he tried to escape, his troops were overwhelmed and he was captured and executed.


Titian
Italian painter active in Venice. As a young man he was taught by G. Bellini and worked closely with Giorgione. His early works are so similar in style to Giorgione's as to be indistinguishable, but soon after Giorgione's early death Titian established himself as the leading painter of the Republic of Venice. Among his most important religious paintings is the revolutionary and monumental Assumption (1516-18) for Santa Maria dei Frari, in which the Virgin ascends to heaven in a blaze of color accompanied by a semicircle of angels. Titian was also interested in mythological themes, and his many depictions of Venus display his work's sheer beauty and inherent eroticism. Bacchus and Ariadne (1520-23), with its pagan abandon, is one of the greatest works of Renaissance art. Titian was sought after for his psychologically penetrating portraits, which include portrayals of leading Italian aristocrats, religious figures, and Emperor Charles V. He reached the height of his powers in The Rape of Europa (c.1559-62), one of several paintings done for Philip II of Spain. He was recognized as supremely gifted in his lifetime, and his reputation has never declined.


Xining
City (pop., 1990: 552,000), capital of Qinghai province, W China. Located in a valley of the Huang River, on what was traditionally the main trade route from N China into Tibet, the region was a frontier county under the Han dynasty and again under the Sui and Tang. In 763 it was taken by Tibetans and called Ch'ing-t'ang-ch'eng. It was recovered by the Song dynasty in 1104 and renamed Xining (meaning "peace in the west"). It became an important religious center under the Tibetans, and Qinghai's largest lamasery was nearby. It was named provincial capital when Qinghai became an independent province in 1928. Its industries include leather processing plants and steelworks.

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