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Bashar al-Assad took over as President of Syria after his father - known to Syrians as the immortal one - died of a heart attack in 2000.

The Assad's have been in control of Syria for the last 42 years, since Bashar's father Hafez took over in a coup - which he referred to as a "Corrective Movement".

How has this family survived in power so long? And why has Bashar al-Assad been so determined to hold onto power while other states have seen their leaders swept away by the Arab Spring?

Owen Bennett Jones examines the nature of the House of Assad and its grip over Syria. He traces the story of the Assads from the Baathist coup in 1963 to the present day.

(Image: President Hafez al-Assad and his wife Anisa posing for a family picture with his children (L to R) Maher, Bashar, Bassel (Circa 1990). Credit: AFP/Getty Images)