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Assassin's Creed: Full Timeline Revealed

By Olivia: Mar 13,2025

Assassin's Creed Shadows, the latest installment in this sprawling franchise, might seem chronologically out of place, set as it is in feudal Japan. However, the series famously doesn't follow a linear timeline. Instead, it leaps across centuries, exploring pivotal moments from the Peloponnesian War in ancient Greece to the cusp of World War I. With fourteen mainline games and counting, untangling this complex history can be a challenge. Thankfully, we've meticulously compiled this chronological timeline, detailing key events and how each game fits into the overarching narrative.

The Isu Era: 75,000 BCE

Before the historical narratives begin, we must delve into the lore of the Isu, a highly advanced, god-like civilization that predates humanity. They created humankind to serve as their slaves, maintaining control through powerful artifacts known as the Apples of Eden. However, a rebellion sparked by Eve and Adam, who stole an Apple, ignited a decade-long war. This conflict ended abruptly with a devastating solar flare that wiped out the Isu, leaving humanity to inherit the Earth.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

Amidst the chaos of the Peloponnesian War, mercenary Kassandra uncovers the Cult of Kosmos, a clandestine organization manipulating the conflict. Her journey reveals a connection to her long-lost brother, Alexios, a demigod-like weapon of the Cult, whose Isu lineage makes him a target. Kassandra confronts the Cult, ultimately thwarting their plan to control Greece using an Isu device capable of predicting futures. Her quest reunites her with her father, Pythagoras, another Isu descendant, who bestows upon her the Staff of Hermes, granting her immortality and tasking her with protecting Atlantis.

Assassin’s Creed Origins: 49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt

In Cleopatra's Egypt, Bayek and his wife Aya confront the Order of the Ancients, another shadowy group working with the Cult of Kosmos. Their son's death fuels their quest for revenge and the dismantling of the Order, which controls Egypt through Ptolemy. Their investigation reveals the Order's global reach and their manipulation of politics and religion through Isu artifacts. Bayek and Aya establish the Hidden Ones, a precursor to the Assassin Brotherhood, to combat the Order's oppression.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage: 861 - Islamic Golden Age

Centuries later, in Baghdad, Basim Ibn Ishaq, a street thief, undergoes assassin training in Alamut. His mission involves investigating the Order of the Ancients’ activities, leading him to an Isu temple and a technologically advanced prison holding Loki, an Isu considered a god by the Norse. Basim discovers his own connection to Loki and vows revenge.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

Basim accompanies Vikings to England, continuing his pursuit of the Order. Eivor and Sigurd, leaders of the Viking clan, encounter King Alfred, a Templar seeking to impose Christianity. Basim reveals their Isu lineage as reincarnations of Odin and Týr, triggering a confrontation that leaves Basim trapped within a simulated world generated by the Yggdrasil Isu computer. Eivor defeats King Alfred and establishes Ravensthorpe.

Assassin’s Creed: 1191 - Third Crusade

The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, facing the Knights Templar, the evolved Order of the Ancients. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad steals an Apple of Eden, leading him to uncover Al Mualim's betrayal and his own ambition to control the Apple. Altaïr ultimately kills Al Mualim and takes control of the Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed 2: 1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

Ezio Auditore da Firenze joins the Assassins to avenge his family, battling the Borgia family and the Templars. He obtains an Apple of Eden, revealing a hidden Isu vault beneath the Vatican. His confrontation with Rodrigo Borgia, the Templar Pope, leads to the discovery of Minerva’s prophecy of an impending apocalypse in 2012 and the existence of a network of Isu vaults.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: 1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance

Following the loss of the Apple of Eden, Ezio rebuilds the Assassin Brotherhood in Rome, reclaiming the Apple and hiding it in an Isu vault beneath the Colosseum.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations: 1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War

Ezio travels to Masyaf to investigate Altaïr's library, encountering the Templars and the Ottoman Assassins. He discovers Altaïr's Apple of Eden and a message from Jupiter revealing the Grand Temple, leaving the Apple untouched.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows: 1579 - Sengoku Period

In 16th-century Japan, Yasuke, an African mercenary, becomes a samurai, intertwining his fate with Naoe, daughter of a shinobi master, during the Sengoku period.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag: 1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy

Edward Kenway becomes embroiled in a Templar conspiracy involving The Observatory, an Isu device. His quest to find the Sage, Bartholomew Roberts, leads him to a confrontation with the Templars and the ultimate securing of The Observatory.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue: 1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Shay Patrick Cormac, after causing an earthquake in Lisbon, defects from the Assassins to the Templars, hunting down his former brethren and thwarting their search for Isu temples. His actions influence the French Revolution.

Assassin’s Creed 3: 1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

Connor Kenway, son of Haytham Kenway, fights against the Templars during the American Revolution, ultimately killing his father and securing the key to the Grand Temple.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation: 1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

Aveline de Grandpré confronts a Templar plot in Louisiana, uncovering a larger conspiracy involving slaves and an Isu device, the Prophecy Disk.

Assassin’s Creed Unity: 1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Arno Dorian seeks revenge and uncovers a Templar plot during the French Revolution, leading to a confrontation with François-Thomas Germain, the Sage.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: 1868 - Victorian England

Jacob and Evie Frye battle the Templars in Victorian London, searching for The Shroud and confronting Crawford Starrick. Evie later assassinates Jack the Ripper, and Lydia, Evie's daughter, later kills the next Sage during World War I.

Transition Period: 1914 to 2012

The Templars establish Abstergo Industries, using the Animus to explore the memories of their ancestors.

Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3: 2012

Desmond Miles, using the Animus, helps the Assassins prevent the apocalypse by locating and activating Isu technology, sacrificing himself in the process.