And suddenly, they were gone. For more than half-a-century, the Assads ruled Syria with an iron fist, seeing off uprisings, plots and a civil war. But in less than two weeks, encountering little resistance, an Islamist-led rebellion managed to swoop into Aleppo, Hama, Homs and now Damascus.

We will ask why, why now, and what to make of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the onetime jihadist who has groomed a more moderate image and made alliances with Syria’s other rebel factions, including the Kurds.

Why the defeat for Bashar al-Assad now exiled to Moscow? What’s next for a former Ottoman dependency-cum-French protectorate that has only known dynasty and dictatorship for most of its citizens’ lives?

 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Annarosa Zampaglione.