"Zabibah and the King" is a romance novel, originally published anonymously in Iraq in 2000, that was written by Saddam Hussein. 'Arab is the protagonist of the story, the novel follows 'Arab as he becomes king of Iraq. The character represents Saddam Hussein.

The plot is a love story about a powerful ruler of medieval Iraq and a beautiful commoner girl named Zabibah. Zabibah's husband is a cruel and unloving man who rapes her. The book is set in 7th or 8th century Tikrit, Hussein's home town. Although the book is on the surface a romance novel, it is (and was intended to be read as) an allegory. The hero is Hussein and Zabibah represents the Iraqi people.

The vicious husband is the United States and his rape of Zabibah represents the U.S. invasion of Iraq at the end of the Gulf War, as illustrated by the date of the rape being January 17, the same date that U.S. led forces commenced the 1991 offensive that drove Iraq out of Kuwait. In the novel, the king dies after capturing the rapists and avenging the honor of Zabibah.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org