Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The modern political history of the Middle East has been dominated by authoritarian rulers. None were more notorious than Saddam Hussein. An enigmatic leader with a penchant for doing things his way, Saddam led Iraq across conflicting fates. In the 1970s, the country was the envy of all its neighbors. But by the 1990s, it was amongst the poorest and most deprived in the world. To highlight his complexity, both instances were created by him. In order to understand him, we will track his entire life story, from his impoverished childhood where he suffered at the hands of his abusive stepfather, to his entry on the Iraqi political scene as an assassin and beyond. We need to take an in-depth look to make sense of how a man who transformed Iraq into a thriving and developing society could throw it all away by waging two wars back to back with his neighbors. We will see how a man that held an entire nation hostage to his will and brought it to ruin could now be revered and remembered fondly by many in the region. This is the life and times of Saddam Hussein.
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Massive thank you to our Patreons:
Elman
TheBactrianGambler
Preston P
Adam
Mohammad
Areeb
Awais
Omar
Farid
Ibrahim
Ari
Joshua
Haseeb
Amir
Mahmoud
Joel
CoreBard
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#Saddam #Iraq #Dictator
Images Used:
Music Used:
Doug Maxwell - Arabian Nightfall (Sting):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bRzD...
If any of the images or songs are yours, please let me know I will amend them. Please don't report me straight away!
0:00 Intro
1:31 Early Life & Iraq's Historical Context
9:27 Entering Politics As An Assassin
12:10 Becoming Vice-President
15:09 Saddam's Party Trick Leads To Total Power
16:47 Persian Vendetta
26:30 Making Friends With Your Future Enemies
35:51 Designs Over Kuwait Turn Saddam Into Public Enemy No. 1
47:19 Iraqi's Rise Up
49:47 UN Sanctions
51:59 America Rages & Ends Saddam
54:12 Saddam's Legacy
The modern political history of the Middle East has been dominated by authoritarian rulers. None were more notorious than Saddam Hussein. An enigmatic leader with a penchant for doing things his way, Saddam led Iraq across conflicting fates. In the 1970s, the country was the envy of all its neighbors. But by the 1990s, it was amongst the poorest and most deprived in the world. To highlight his complexity, both instances were created by him. In order to understand him, we will track his entire life story, from his impoverished childhood where he suffered at the hands of his abusive stepfather, to his entry on the Iraqi political scene as an assassin and beyond. We need to take an in-depth look to make sense of how a man who transformed Iraq into a thriving and developing society could throw it all away by waging two wars back to back with his neighbors. We will see how a man that held an entire nation hostage to his will and brought it to ruin could now be revered and remembered fondly by many in the region. This is the life and times of Saddam Hussein.
FREE NEWSLETTER:
https://mailchi.mp/a69f93be6c66/hikma-history-newsletter
- Become a Patron for as little as a dollar a month to vote on upcoming and keep the movement going!
patreon.com/user?u=12397811
Massive thank you to our Patreons:
Elman
TheBactrianGambler
Preston P
Adam
Mohammad
Areeb
Awais
Omar
Farid
Ibrahim
Ari
Joshua
Haseeb
Amir
Mahmoud
Joel
CoreBard
- Join our social media community:
Twitter:
twitter.com/HikmaHistory
Instagram:
instagram.com/hikmahistory
Facebook:
facebook.com/HikmaHistory
Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hikma...
#Saddam #Iraq #Dictator
Images Used:
Music Used:
Doug Maxwell - Arabian Nightfall (Sting):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bRzD...
If any of the images or songs are yours, please let me know I will amend them. Please don't report me straight away!
0:00 Intro
1:31 Early Life & Iraq's Historical Context
9:27 Entering Politics As An Assassin
12:10 Becoming Vice-President
15:09 Saddam's Party Trick Leads To Total Power
16:47 Persian Vendetta
26:30 Making Friends With Your Future Enemies
35:51 Designs Over Kuwait Turn Saddam Into Public Enemy No. 1
47:19 Iraqi's Rise Up
49:47 UN Sanctions
51:59 America Rages & Ends Saddam
54:12 Saddam's Legacy
