Assassin's Creed Shadows marks a thrilling new chapter in the long-standing series, set against the backdrop of feudal Japan. This setting places it right in the middle of the Assassin's Creed historical timeline, which doesn't progress chronologically but jumps across various eras. The series has explored everything from the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece to the dawn of the First World War, spanning significant historical events over thousands of years.
With 14 mainline games and counting, the timeline of these events has become increasingly complex. That's why IGN has meticulously analyzed every piece of lore to create a comprehensive timeline that makes sense of the series' sprawling narrative, ensuring all the games fit together seamlessly. Here, we present this timeline, detailing all the key events in the Assassin's Creed saga in chronological order.
The Isu Era
75,000 BCE
To understand the timeline, we must first delve into the lore. Long ago, a highly advanced civilization known as the Isu ruled the earth. These god-like beings created humans to serve as their slaves, controlling them with powerful artifacts called the Apples of Eden. However, humans, led by Eve and Adam, rebelled after stealing an Apple, sparking a revolutionary war. This conflict lasted a decade until a catastrophic solar flare obliterated the Isu. Humanity, though diminished, rose from the ashes to inherit the earth.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War
During the Peloponnesian War, mercenary Kassandra uncovers The Cult of Kosmos, a shadowy group orchestrating the conflict. Her long-lost brother Alexios, kidnapped and transformed into a weapon by the Cult, is among their ranks. Kassandra learns the Cult targeted Alexios due to his descent from the legendary Spartan King Leonidas, an Isu descendant. Her mission to stop the Cult involves destroying an Isu device used to manipulate the war's outcome. Along the way, she reunites with her father Pythagoras, who entrusts her with the Staff of Hermes, granting immortality, and tasks her with guarding Atlantis.
Assassin’s Creed Origins
49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt
In the era of Cleopatra's rule, The Order of the Ancients, working with the Cult of Kosmos, kidnaps peacekeeper Bayek and his son, believing Bayek's bloodline can unlock an Isu vault. Bayek's escape attempt tragically results in his son's death, driving him to seek vengeance. He and his wife Aya dismantle The Order, which has infiltrated Egypt's power structures and manipulated Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Realizing The Order's global ambitions to control politics and religion using the Apples of Eden, Bayek and Aya found The Hidden Ones, a secret society of spies and assassins operating from Egypt and Rome.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
861 - Islamic Golden Age
A century later, The Hidden Ones have established strongholds worldwide, including Alamut in Iran. Basim, a Baghdad street thief, is trained as an assassin to investigate The Order of the Ancients' activities. He discovers their plan to access an Isu temple beneath Alamut, which contains a prison for the Isu Loki. Learning of his own reincarnation as Loki, Basim vows to exact revenge on those who imprisoned him.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England
Basim travels with a Viking clan to England, seeking members of The Order. Clan leaders Sigurd and Eivor encounter King Alfred, a Templar, and his oppressive regime. After discovering an Isu artifact, Sigurd experiences visions of his divinity, leading to Basim's revelation that Eivor and Sigurd are reincarnations of Odin and Týr. Eivor traps Basim in an Isu simulation, while Sigurd, traumatized, cedes leadership to Eivor, who defeats Alfred at the Battle of Chippenham and returns to Ravensthorpe as a hero.
Assassin’s Creed
1191 - Third Crusade
Three centuries later, The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, facing off against the newly formed Knights Templar, who seek a new world order. Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad steals an Apple of Eden from the Templars but loses a fellow assassin in the process. Tasked with assassinating nine Templar leaders to atone, Altaïr uncovers a conspiracy involving the Apple's power. He learns his mentor, Al Mualim, betrayed the Templars to control the Apple and impose peace forcefully. Altaïr kills Al Mualim and takes leadership of the Brotherhood.
Assassin’s Creed 2
1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance
During the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze joins the Assassin Brotherhood to avenge his family's murder by the Templars. Using his father's equipment and Leonardo Da Vinci's innovations, Ezio battles the Templar-aligned Borgia family. He gains possession of an Apple of Eden, which leads him to an Isu vault beneath the Vatican. Inside, Ezio encounters Minerva, who warns of an impending 2012 apocalypse and reveals a network of Isu vaults that might prevent it.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance
Despite defeating Pope Rodrigo Borgia in combat, Ezio spares him, a decision that backfires when Borgia's forces attack Ezio's villa and steal the Apple of Eden. Ezio rebuilds the weakened Brotherhood, becoming the leader of the Italian Bureau. The Assassins dismantle the Borgia regime and reclaim the Apple, which Ezio hides in an Isu vault beneath the Roman Colosseum.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War
Seeking more Isu knowledge, Ezio travels to Masyaf to explore Altaïr's library, but the Templars are already there, hunting for keys to unlock it. Ezio allies with the Ottoman Assassins to thwart the Byzantine Templars' plans. Inside the library, he finds Altaïr's remains and an Apple of Eden, which projects a message from Jupiter about data crucial for surviving the apocalypse. Ezio leaves the Apple locked away and retires, later dying from his injuries.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
1579 - Sengoku Period
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, set during Japan's Sengoku period, an African mercenary, Yasuke, travels with a Jesuit missionary and meets Oda Nobunaga, a powerful daimyo. Yasuke becomes a samurai and helps invade the Iga province, home to Naoe, a shinobi. Despite their opposing allegiances, Yasuke and Naoe unite to pursue a common goal.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy
During the Golden Age of Piracy, Edward Kenway, after killing an Assassin and assuming his identity, learns of the Templars' quest for The Observatory, an Isu device for spying on humans. Only the Sage, a reincarnation of the Isu Aita, can unlock it. Edward allies with pirates to find the current Sage, Bartholomew Roberts, but their partnership ends in betrayal. Edward retrieves the artifact, assassinates the Templar leader, and seals the device away, choosing the world's safety over personal gain.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War
Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin sent to retrieve an Isu artifact, triggers an earthquake in Lisbon, leading to his defection and theft of the Brotherhood's map of Isu temples. Rescued by the Templars, Shay rises through their ranks, targeting Assassins. His quest leads him to confront his former mentor, Achilles, and suggests a French revolution in response to the American uprising sparked by the Assassins.
Assassin’s Creed 3
1754 to 1783 - American Revolution
Templar Haytham Kenway seeks to unlock the Isu's Grand Temple, but fails despite obtaining the key. He falls in love with a Mohawk woman, Kaniehti:io, and they have a son, Ratonhnhaké:ton. After the Mohawk settlement is destroyed, Ratonhnhaké:ton becomes Connor Kenway and joins the Assassins. Amid the American Revolution, Connor eliminates Templars within the British forces and confronts his father, Haytham. Their conflicting visions lead to Connor killing Haytham and burying the Grand Temple key.
Assassin’s Creed Liberation
1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana
In New Orleans, Assassin Aveline de Grandpré uncovers a Templar plot to control Louisiana, learning it's part of a larger conspiracy led by the 'Company Man' using slaves to find an Isu temple. Aveline discovers her stepmother is the Company Man and kills her, then activates the Prophecy Disk, revealing the story of Eve's rebellion against the Isu.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
1789 to 1794 - French Revolution
Orphaned Arno Dorian, raised by the Templar Grand Master, is framed for murder and imprisoned. In the Bastille, he meets an Assassin who helps him uncover a Templar rift led by François-Thomas Germain. Arno and his sister Élise pursue Germain, who attempts to use a Sword of Eden to kill Arno. The sword explodes, killing Élise and wounding Germain, who reveals himself as the Sage. Arno seals Germain's remains in the Paris Catacombs.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
1868 - Victorian England
In Victorian London, twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye seek The Shroud, an Isu device. They find the city under Templar control through industry, politics, and crime. Jacob focuses on assassinating Templar leaders while Evie searches for The Shroud. After Crawford Starrick steals The Shroud, the twins assassinate him and return it to its vault. Jacob leads the London Assassins, and Evie later kills Jack the Ripper.
Transition Period
1914 to 2012
The Assassin's Creed series uses a modern-day framing story, with the Templars forming Abstergo Industries in 1937 to control the world through capitalism. Abstergo develops the Animus in the late 1970s, a machine for exploring ancestral memories to control the future.
Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3
2012
In 2012, Desmond Miles is abducted by Abstergo to locate Isu artifacts through his ancestor Altaïr's memories. An Assassin mole, Lucy Stillman, helps him escape. Desmond explores Ezio's memories, learning of an impending apocalypse. He finds an Apple of Eden, but Juno possesses him, forcing him to kill Lucy. Despite a coma, Desmond continues exploring Ezio's memories, leading to the Grand Temple. There, he sacrifices himself to prevent the apocalypse, unleashing Juno.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
2013
Using Desmond's samples, Abstergo explores Edward Kenway's memories to find The Observatory. The Noob, an Abstergo researcher, is manipulated by John Standish, the modern-day Sage, to host Juno. Standish's plans are thwarted when he's killed by Abstergo security.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
2014
Abstergo releases Helix, allowing public access to genetic memories. An initiate, guided by Assassin Bishop, relives Arno Dorian's life to find Sage François-Thomas Germain's remains, believed safe in the Paris Catacombs.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
2015
The initiate explores Jacob and Evie Frye's memories, learning The Shroud's location. Abstergo retrieves it first, planning to create a living Isu. Juno manipulates Abstergo employees to sabotage the plan.
Assassin’s Creed Origins
2017
Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus that explores memories via DNA samples. In Egypt, she relives Bayek and Aya's lives, founding The Hidden Ones. William Miles recruits her into the Assassin Brotherhood.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
2018
Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla relives Kassandra's memories, locating Atlantis. Kassandra, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes, reveals Layla's role in balancing the Assassins and Templars. Kassandra dies after giving Layla the Staff.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
2020
Layla explores Eivor's memories, discovering the Yggdrasil computer. The Assassins learn the magnetic field disturbances are from Desmond's 2012 actions. In Norway, Layla uses Yggdrasil to prevent future apocalypses, meeting Basim and The Reader. Basim escapes with the Staff, containing Aletheia, and joins the Assassins to find Loki's children.
