hafez al-assad and his son basher al-assad have ruled syria under the ba’ath party and their version of the ba’ath ideology. hafez al-assad ruled over syria from 1970 until his death in 2000. during his reign, many atrocities as well as assassinations took place against those who opposed him. after his death, his son basher al-assad succeeded him and to-date rules over syria. under his reign, the syrian civil war started.