Meet the Assads: How rebel forces toppled Syria’s decades-long dynasty

[Collection]After over five decades of Assad family rule, President Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus as rebel forces breach the Syrian capital. The Alawite dynasty, established by Hafez al-Assad in 1970, maintained power through strategic manipulation of sectarian divisions. Bashar, inheriting power in 2000, failed to implement reforms, leading to the 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war.