NIRIZ  , or NAIxiz, a

district and town in the province of Fars, Persia . The district has 24 villages and extends from near Istahbamat, south of the Bakhtegan lake, to about 50 M . E . Water is scarce and the plain is not much cultivated in con-sequence . The produce consists of some grain, cotton, tobacco, &c., but fruit is more abundant . Here, as in the neighbouring Darab district, villages situated in the hills are called madan (mine), and some travellers have in their itineraries indicated a mine in localities where there is none . ' It has also been pointed out that the employment of the sign PI for wa and the use of z for s, cited in support of the earlier date, survived in the Kassite period . The town of NTxiz is situated in a plain 7 M. from the south-eastern point of the lake, and about 130 M. from Shiraz, and has a population of about goon . The people of Niriz were stanch followers of the Bab (see BABIISM), and rose against the government in 185o and in 1852, with disastrous results . Niriz was formerly known for its manufactureof steel from iron ore brought from Parpa, 40 M . E .