Raymond's appointment as regent by Baldwin IV of Jerusalem

Raymond III (1140–1187) was the count of Tripoli (in modern-day Lebanon) from 1152 until his death. The son of Raymond II and Hodierna of Jerusalem, he was a minor when he succeeded his father. After reaching the age of majority in 1155, he fought the powerful Muslim ruler Nur ad-Din, and hired pirates to pillage Byzantine territories. From 1164, he spent nearly ten years in Muslim captivity. Marrying the wealthy heiress Eschiva of Bures made him prince of Galilee in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. A close relative of the royal family, he ruled Jerusalem as regent for Baldwin IV between 1174 and 1176, and for the child Baldwin V from 1185 to 1186. After the child king's death, he could not prevent the coronation of Baldwin V's mother Sibylla and her husband Guy of Lusignan. He paid homage to Guy only after Jerusalem was invaded by Saladin, the Muslim ruler of Egypt and Syria. One of the few crusader leaders who escaped from the battlefield at Hattin, he died soon after, probably of pleurisy. (Full article...)

Queen of the fairies in the Khalili Falnama

• ... that opening a Falnama on a painting of the queen of the fairies (example pictured) meant a prediction of good fortune?
• ... that under early English common law a person became legally dead when they entered a religious order?
• ... that Kenya Grace shot her first music video after becoming a finalist in a competition?
• ... that future Georgia representative Edna Jackson was part of a wade-in to protest segregation at Tybee Island Beach?
• ... that student-aid startup Frank claimed to have 4.25 million users, but is alleged to have had fewer than 300,000?
• ... that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour caused the horror film The Exorcist: Believer to move its release date one week earlier from Friday, October 13, 2023?
• ... that Rebecca Struthers has a PhD in horology?
• ... that sugar cubes were used to deliver the polio vaccine?

Herat earthquakes aftermath

• Three earthquakes (aftermath pictured) leave at least 1,000 people dead in Herat, Afghanistan.
• Kelvin Kiptum breaks the men's marathon world record in the Chicago Marathon.
• In motorsport, Max Verstappen wins the Formula One World Championship.
• Israel declares a state of war after Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launch a series of attacks from the Gaza Strip that has left thousands of people dead.

October 13

B'nai B'rith membership certificate, 1876

• 645 – Goguryeo–Tang War: Led by Emperor Taizong, the Tang army was forced to abandon a siege of Ansi Fortress.
• 1843 – B'nai B'rith (membership certificate pictured), the world's oldest continually operating Jewish service organization, was founded in New York City.
• 1917 – At least 30,000 people witnessed the Miracle of the Sun in the fields of Cova da Iria near Fátima, Portugal.
• 1961 – Newly elected Burundian prime minister Louis Rwagasore was assassinated by his political rivals.
• 2013 – During the Hindu festival of Navaratri at a temple in Madhya Pradesh, India, rumours about an impending bridge collapse caused a stampede that resulted in 115 deaths.