However, the final days of the Rajapaksa dynasty in Sri Lanka tell a very different story. Embattled President Rajapaksa hurriedly left the South Asian country in the early hours of Wednesday.

They were once regarded as national heroes, almost mythical warrior-king leaders who defeated the separatists in a bloody civil war.

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (left) and his brother Basil Rajapaksa (right) in 2010

However, the final days of Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa dynasty tell a very different story. In the early hours of Wednesday, embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hurriedly left the South Asian country. Days earlier, thousands of angry protesters broke into Rajapaksa's official residence, swam in his swimming pool and demanded he eventually leave.

He was expected to resign later in the day, but Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not wait to formally resign. Instead, before dawn, he boarded a military plane and fled the crisis-hit commercial capital of Colombo to the Maldives. His departure is a historic moment for the island nation of 22 million, which Rajapaksa ruled with an iron fist for much of the past 20 years before losing the faith of his once-adoring citizens. .

Mahinda Rajapaksa (left) and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2019

Mahinda Rajapaksa ran Sri Lanka like a family business for much of his tenure, Appointed his brothers to key positions; Gotabaya as Defense Minister, Basil as Economic Development Minister and Chamal as Speaker.

Despite the resentment about nepotism, the brothers remain popular. The country has experienced years of growth, helped by the government borrowing heavily from overseas to fund public services.

While the civil war formed much of Mahinda Rajapaksa's legend, it also contained the first signs of his downfall. According to a 2011 United Nations report, government forces were responsible for abuses, including deliberate shelling of civilians, summary executions, rape, and preventing food and medicine from reaching affected communities.

By 2015, Sri Lanka owed China $8 billion, and Sri Lankan government officials predicted that accumulated foreign debt - including debt owed to China and other countries - would eat up 94% of the country's GDP. That year, Mahinda Rajapaksa lost a close presidential election to his former health minister.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife Ayoma in a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2019

Experts say Sri Lanka's economic problems are not entirely the fault of the government, but a series of bad decisions Adding to Sri Lanka's predicament.

Faced with a huge deficit, Rajapaksa slashed taxes to stimulate the economy. But the move backfired and hit government revenue. Rating agency subsequently downgraded Sri Lanka's rating to near default levels, meaning the country lost access to overseas markets. Sri Lanka then had to dip into its foreign exchange reserves to repay government debt. This has affected the import of fuel and other essential goods, causing prices to surge.

They blame Rajapaksa. For months, angry Sri Lankans have taken to the streets, accusing Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa of mismanaging the economy.