Asad (name)
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Asad (Arabic: أسد) is one of many Arabic male given names meaning "lion", each denoting some aspect of the animal. It is used in nicknames such as Asad Allāh one of the nicknames for Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Among prominent people named Asad are:

• Asad ibn Hashim, maternal grandfather of Ali ib Abi Talib.
• Asad ibn Saman, an early Samanid.
• Khuwaylid ibn Asad
• Muhammad Asad, born Leopold Weiss
• Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, a famous Urdu and Persian poet of India

The Assads are an Alawite family from the Lattakia region (specifically Qardaha), which has since 1970 held political power in Syria. The family has produced two presidents:

• Hafez al-Assad - President of Syria from 1970-2000
• Bashar al-Assad - Current President of Syria
• Basil al-Assad
• Rifaat al-Assad
• Jamil al-Assad