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Assassin's Creed Timeline: A Complete Guide

by Henry Mar 13,2025

Assassin's Creed Shadows, the latest addition to the sprawling franchise, might seem out of chronological order. Set in feudal Japan, it occupies a middle point in the series' extensive historical timeline. The Assassin's Creed series famously doesn't follow a strict chronological progression; instead, it leaps through history, exploring pivotal events from the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece to the eve of World War I.

With 14 mainline games and counting, the series' timeline is incredibly intricate. IGN has meticulously pieced together the centuries-spanning narrative, clarifying the overarching story and how each game fits within the larger saga. Presented below is a chronological overview of the key events in the Assassin's Creed universe.

The Isu Era

75,000 BCE

Before delving into the historical timeline, understanding the Isu is crucial. Eons ago, a highly advanced civilization of god-like beings, the Isu, ruled Earth. They created humanity to serve as their slaves, maintaining control through powerful artifacts known as the Apples of Eden. Humanity, naturally resistant to enslavement, rebelled. Eve and Adam stole an Apple of Eden, sparking a decade-long war that ended abruptly with a devastating solar flare, obliterating the Isu and leaving humanity to inherit the Earth.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

Amidst the turmoil of the Peloponnesian War, mercenary Kassandra uncovers the Cult of Kosmos, a clandestine organization secretly manipulating the conflict. She discovers her long-lost brother, Alexios, a demigod-like weapon created by the Cult. Kassandra learns the Cult targeted Alexios due to his Isu lineage, tracing back to the legendary Spartan King Leonidas. Kassandra’s mission to thwart the Cult's plans involves confronting their use of an Isu device that predicts futures, ultimately dismantling the Cult and ending the war. She is reunited with her father, Pythagoras, another Isu descendant, who bestows upon her the Staff of Hermes, granting immortality and appointing her guardian of Atlantis.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt

During Cleopatra's reign, Bayek, a Medjay peacekeeper, and his wife Aya confront the Order of the Ancients, another shadowy organization collaborating with the Cult of Kosmos. The Order seeks Bayek's bloodline to unlock an Isu vault, leading to a tragic loss. Driven by revenge, Bayek and Aya dismantle the Order, uncovering its global reach and influence on politics and religion through the Apples of Eden. Their fight against oppression leads to the creation of the Hidden Ones, a secret society of assassins operating across Egypt and Rome.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

861 - Islamic Golden Age

Centuries later, the Hidden Ones, now established across the globe, including Alamut in Iran, train Basim Ibn Ishaq, a Baghdad street thief. His mission involves investigating the Order of the Ancients in Baghdad, leading to the discovery of an Isu temple beneath Alamut and a technologically advanced prison holding Loki, an Isu considered a god by the Norse. Basim, revealed as Loki's reincarnation, vows revenge.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

Basim accompanies a Viking clan to England, continuing his pursuit of the Order of the Ancients. Sigurd and Eivor, the clan's leaders, discover an Isu artifact, triggering visions that reveal their Isu heritage as Odin and Týr, Loki's jailers. Basim, seeking revenge, attacks them. Eivor survives, trapping Basim in a simulated world within the Yggdrasil-shaped Isu computer. Eivor defeats King Alfred and returns to Ravensthorpe as a hero.

Assassin’s Creed

1191 - Third Crusade

Over the next centuries, the Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, facing the Knights Templar, the evolved Order of the Ancients. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, an Assassin during the Third Crusade, steals an Apple of Eden, leading to a mission to assassinate nine Templar leaders. He uncovers Al Mualim's betrayal and ultimately confronts and defeats his former mentor.

Assassin’s Creed 2

1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

Ezio Auditore da Firenze joins the Assassin Brotherhood, seeking revenge against the Templars. Using his skills and Leonardo da Vinci's inventions, he battles the Borgia family, obtaining an Apple of Eden that reveals an Isu vault beneath the Vatican. He confronts and defeats Rodrigo Borgia, the Templar Grand Master and Pope, accessing the vault and receiving a warning from Minerva about an impending apocalypse in 2012.

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, thwarting the Templars' attempts to unlock it. He discovers Altaïr's remains and a message from Jupiter revealing the Grand Temple. Ezio leaves the Apple untouched and retires, eventually passing away.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

1579 - Sengoku Period

[ttpp] Details about the storyline of Assassin's Creed Shadows are still emerging, but it involves an African mercenary, Yasuke, who travels to Japan during the Sengoku period, becoming a samurai and uniting with Naoe, the daughter of a shinobi master.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy

Edward Kenway becomes entangled in a Templar conspiracy involving the Observatory, an Isu device capable of spying on anyone. He allies with Bartholomew Roberts, the Sage, but is betrayed. Edward reclaims the Observatory's power source, assassinates Laureano de Torres y Ayala, and secures the device.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Shay Patrick Cormac, after causing an earthquake in Lisbon, defects from the Assassin Brotherhood to the Templars, hunting down his former comrades and ultimately confronting Achilles in the Arctic.

Assassin’s Creed 3

1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

Haytham Kenway seeks the Grand Temple, fathering Connor Kenway with Kaniehti:io. Connor, after the destruction of his village, becomes an Assassin, fighting in the American Revolution and ultimately confronting and killing his father.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation

1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

Aveline de Grandpré uncovers a Templar plot in Louisiana, discovering her stepmother is the "Company Man" using slaves to unearth an Isu temple. Aveline confronts and defeats her stepmother.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Arno Dorian, orphaned and adopted by a Templar, becomes an Assassin, uncovering a Templar plot during the French Revolution and ultimately confronting and defeating François-Thomas Germain, the Sage.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

1868 - Victorian England

Jacob and Evie Frye battle the Templars in Victorian London, recovering the Shroud and ultimately defeating Crawford Starrick. Evie later assassinates Jack the Ripper, and her daughter, Lydia, later eliminates a Templar spy network during World War I.

Transition Period

1914 to 2012

The Templars establish Abstergo Industries, using the Animus to explore the memories of Assassin ancestors to locate Isu technology.

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

2012

Desmond Miles, using the Animus, helps the Assassins locate and utilize Isu technology to prevent the apocalypse, ultimately sacrificing himself to defeat Juno.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

2013

Abstergo uses Desmond's DNA to continue its search for Isu technology, focusing on Edward Kenway's memories. John Standish, the modern-day Sage, is killed attempting to use The Noob as a host for Juno.

Assassin’s Creed Unity