TODAY IN HISTORY
August 28, 1189: In an effort to find himself a new capital city (having lost his previous one), titular King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan begins a siege of Acre. It took the armies of the Third Crusade, under Richard the Lionheart of England and Philip II of France, to finally conclude the siege and capture the city in July 1191.
August 28, 1521: Ottoman forces under Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent capture the then-Hungarian city of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár to the Hungarians) and destroy most of it. The Ottomans rebuilt the city and made it the capital of the Sanjak of Smederevo, and within a short time it became the largest Ottoman city in Europe other than Constantinople.
MIDDLE EAST
SYRIA
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has named former Syrian Democratic Forces boss Mazloum Abdi as a “presidential adviser.” Abdi announced the SDF’s dissolution earlier this week. It’s unclear whether he will actually have a meaningful job in this new role or if the appointment is just symbolic.
