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. 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. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_III,_Count_of_Tripoli> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1843: B'nai B'rith (membership certificate pictured), the world's oldest continually operating Jewish service organization, was founded in New York City. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27nai_B%27rith> 1917: At least 30,000 people witnessed the Miracle of the Sun in the fields of Cova da Iria near Fátima, Portugal. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun> 1961: Newly elected Burundian prime minister Louis Rwagasore was assassinated by his political rivals. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Rwagasore> 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. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Madhya_Pradesh_stampede> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: covey: 1. A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus). 2. (by extension) 3. A group of other birds, such as quail (superfamily Phasianoidea). 4. (figurative) A group or party of people; also, a group or set of things. 5. (intransitive) To gather into a group. [...] <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/covey> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   As many here know, Hamas launched its attack on Simchat Torah. This is the day that Jews celebrate finishing the reading of the Torah. This Saturday, Jews around the world will chant the first words of the book of Genesis. They’ll read that in the beginning, there was darkness; and then there was light. That the first person was alone until a partner joined them. I’m standing here today alongside our Israeli friends and all those who reject terror to help find the glimmers of light, even in this moment of deep darkness, and to make clear as that as long as there’s a United States, Israel will never be alone.   --Antony Blinken <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken>