"Understand their saga and you understand why their country now lies in ruins."

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So says the voiceover in the BBC's new documentary A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad, a three-part series which which examines in detail the history of the family that's ruled Syria since 1971.

Here's everything you need to know.

What time is A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad on TV?

The three part series airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC2, beginning Tuesday 9th October 2018.

What's the documentary about?

The al-Assad children in a garden, 1970s, (l-r) Bushra, Majd, Bashar, Bassel and Maher (BBC)

The series tells the story of the Assad dynasty and President Bashar al-Assad, who was made the successor to his father Hafez following the death of his older brother.

Told through rarely-seen footage and testimony of those who knew and worked with them, the series explores how the couple, who at first were seen as a modernising force, ended up running a regime accused of war crimes.

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