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In March 2011, Vogue ran a cover story about a โ€œwildly democraticโ€ couple in the Middle East.

They were chic, sophisticated, progressive. They governed a bright spot on the map โ€“ โ€a secular country where women earn as much as men and the Muslim veil is forbidden in universities, a place without bombings, unrest, or kidnappings.โ€

They endorsed โ€œactive citizenshipโ€; they were family people and in their home, โ€œWe all vote on what we want, and where.โ€

They were the Assads โ€“ a โ€œrose in the desert,โ€ in Vogueโ€™s words.

Soon, the only red in the desert would be blood.

Bashar al-Assad was born in Syria in 1965, the third of six children. When he was five, his father โ€“ a military officer named Hafez al-Assad โ€“ overthrew Syriaโ€™s government and became the countryโ€™s leader.

Bashar reaped the benefits of his fatherโ€™s position, living in luxury in Damascus and attending an elite Syrian high school. Yet as he did so, the Syrian people suffered: In 1982, the year Bashar graduated, his father ordered the military to level Hama, a city where rebels had taken up arms against his regime. Up to 40,000 Syrian civilians died in that event, marking the deadliest single use of force by a Middle Eastern leader against their own people.

The lesson wouldnโ€™t be lost on his son.

Shortly after Hafez took power in Syria, two Syrians emigrated to London where they ran a medical practice and welcomed a daughter, Asma, in 1975. Asma attended the UKโ€™s top schools, studied computer science, and landed a job at JP Morgan. While she was launching her career, Bashar arrived in England to study ophthalmology. The pair would eventually meet at Syriaโ€™s London embassy.

At the time, Bashar was relatively unimportant. Shy and lacking any apparent interest in politics, it was well known that his older brother โ€“ a flashy military officer named Bassel โ€“ would succeed his father in ruling Syria. Bashar seemed destined for a life of medicine.

The Assad family, c. 1993. Bashar is second from the back left; Bassel is to his right; Hafez is front right

In 1994, though, Bassel was driving at over 100 MPH in his Mercedes, rushing to catch a flight from Syria to Germany for a ski trip, when he crashed into a barrier and died instantly.

Hafez summoned Bashar back to Syria. Heโ€™d never practice medicine again.

The rest of our deep dive tells the rise and fall of the Assads, and how a PR campaign whitewashed their crimes. You can sign up for a free trial at the button below. Once you do, you can access all our premium articles here. Thank you for supporting our mission!

Editorโ€™s Note

The news doesnโ€™t stop. Thank you for trusting us with it.

Weโ€™ll be back later this week with a deep dive onย Abu Mohammed al Jolani, the al-Qaeda fighter-turned-rebel leader who leads HTS, as mentioned in todayโ€™s story. See you then.

โ€“Max and Max

RocaNews co-founders