Assassin's Creed Timeline Explained in Depth
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VOICE OVER: Andrew Labelle
WRITTEN BY: Caitlin Johnson
The Assassin's Creed timeline goes back thousands of years, all the way from the dawn of humanity to present day. So join MojoPlays as we go over the complete storyline of Assassin's Creed.
Justin Giglio
Wed, Oct 24, 12:14 PM (13 days ago)
to s
Assassin’s Creed Timeline Explained
Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed” franchise is a sprawling epic chronicling the endless struggle between the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order. However, with this much content comes a decade of lore, protagonists and time periods. Because of this, explaining the convoluted timeline of this hit series is no simple task – but we’ll give it a shot. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re breaking down the Assassin’s Creed Timeline.
The story begins in the year 75,111 BC with the Isu race, AKA the “Precursor” civilization. This advanced civilization created the human race as slaves and crafted an array of powerful artifacts designed to keep humankind subservient. Problems arose when two Human-Isu hybrids, Adam and Eve, led a rebellion and stole one of these artifacts, dubbed the “Apple of Eden” launching a full-on war between Humans and Isu. During this time, three Isu scientists, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, worked together to preserve their civilization by building enormous vaults under threat of “the Great Catastrophe.” This catastrophe arrived in the form of a devastating solar flare which nearly wiped out both species and destroyed the planet. To prevent the inevitable “Second Disaster” which would devastate the world yet again in the year 2012 A.D., Minerva built “the Eye”, a device that could re-write the calculations of existence itself. However, Minerva learned that Juno planned to use the device to rule over the survivors of the “Great Catastrophe” and destroyed her creation rather than let it fall into the wrong hands. Unbeknownst to Minerva, Juno managed to repair the device while she was imprisoned in the “Central Vault.”
Tens of thousands of years go by until the Peloponnesian War breaks out between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC. The Assassins may not exist yet, but the Pieces of Eden are already being used by mankind – like the spear of Spartan Leonidas. This spear falls into the hands of either Alexios or Kassandra, his descendant, and they use it to bring peace to Ancient Greece.
Moving swiftly on through another four centuries, in Ancient Egypt, the Medjay of Siwa, Bayek, is grieving the loss of his son, whom he mistakenly killed in a frenzy brought on by malevolent masked men called the Order of Ancients. Living in Mesopotamia under the tyrannical rule of Ptolemy XIII, Bayek and his wife Aya seek vengeance for what happened to their son. During this time they ally with Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, who they help enter the tomb of Alexander the Great. The leader of the Order of Ancients and the man responsible for Bayek’s son’s death, Flavius Metellus, takes Alexander’s staff, which turns out to be a Piece of Eden, and combines it with an Apple of Eden to open a Vault in Siwa and reveal a map to the rest of the Pieces. Bayek is able to defeat Flavius and avenge his son's death. He, Aya and their allies become the “Hidden Ones”, pledging themselves to oppose tyranny and protect free will. They become the Brotherhood of Assassins, while the Order of Ancients eventually becomes the Templar Order.
Over a thousand years later, the Assassins are a powerful group in Syria, based in a fortress called Masyaf. In 1191 AD, during the Third Crusade, the leader of the Assassins, Al Mualim, betrays the Brotherhood and his prodigy, Altaïr, by siding with the Knights Templar in order to recover an Apple of Eden. Once Altaïr realizes he’s been manipulated by his mentor all along, he battles and kills Al Mualim, becoming the new leader of the Assassins. In the process, he accidentally activates the Apple, which shows him a map of the world with the locations of all the other precursor vaults and artifacts.
In 1459 AD, at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore da Firenze becomes an Assassin after witnessing the executions of his father and two brothers. He seeks revenge by going after the corrupt Pope, Rodrigo Borgia, who is in possession of a Staff and Apple of Eden. After unlocking a precursor vault beneath the Vatican, Ezio speaks to the Isu Minerva, who warns him, and his future descendant Desmond, about a looming second Great Catastrophe. Once Ezio escapes he remains in Rome to rebuild the Assassins and eliminate the Borgias, succeeding and then hiding the Apple underneath the Colosseum. By 1511 Ezio is much older and travels to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, seeking an ancient Assassin library. Once he finally gains access, he finds Altaïr’s 400-year-old corpse as well as the first Apple of Eden.
During the Golden Age of Piracy in the 18th Century, privateer Edward Kenway joins the ranks of the Assassins after mistakenly granting Bartholomew Roberts access to a precursor vault known as the Observatory. Turns out Roberts is a Sage: reincarnations of the Isu scientist known as Aita, the husband of Juno. Aita uses these Sages as vessels in order to be reunited with his beloved and to find a vessel for her so that she can return and control mankind. After defeating Aita in the form of Roberts, Edward vows to continue the Assassin legacy, but his son Haytham has other ideas.
Decades later Haytham has joined the Templars after his father’s death and has a half Native American son who is nicknamed Connor. Connor, by a twist of fate, becomes an Assassin in Colonial America under the tutelage of Achilles Davenport. Both Connor and Haytham play an important role in the Revolutionary War, but Connor never betrays the Brotherhood, and assassinated his father in 1781, burying the key to a precursor temple.
Templar Shay Cormac travels to Versailles in 1776 on a mission to eliminate the Assassin, Charles Dorian. This tragedy leads Charles’s son Arno to become an Assassin himself. Things get complicated when Arno pursues a relationship with his childhood sweetheart and adoptive sister Elise, the daughter of a Templar Grandmaster. Arno is framed for the murder of Elise’s father by yet another Sage of Aita, who is also leading the French Revolution as François Thomas-Germain. Arno and Elise confront Germain in a temple and find him in possession of a Sword of Eden. With Arno pined under a pillar, Elise pursues Germain alone. While engaged in a sword fight with Elise, Germain’s sword becomes unstable and explodes, mortally wounding them both. Elise dies in Arno’s arms, and Arno finishes off Germain with his blade.
Sixty years on, in 1868, the twin Assassins Evie and Jacob Frye travel to London to loosen the hold the Templar leader Crawford Starrick has on the city and, subsequently, the entire British Empire. His true intent: recovering the Shroud of Eden, which has miraculous healing capabilities that made him very difficult to kill once he found and donned it – the Fryes do manage to get the shroud off and kill Starrick, putting an end to his plans and relinquishing the Templar’s hold on London.
In the present day, Assassin Desmond Miles is manipulated into using an Animus by Abstergo – AKA the Templars – to access the memories of his ancestors, Altaïr and Ezio. Desmond escapes with Lucy, a Assassin who had infultrated the Templar Order, after discovering warnings about a second Great Catastrophe coming in 2012, and they, along with Assassins Shaun and Rebecca, attempt to avert this disaster. Turns out that Lucy had truly joined the Brotherhood after all. While Desmond’s body was under the control of Juno after making contact with an Apple of Eden, Juno kills Lucy through Desmond, as she knows that she’s secretly still a Templar. Making contact with the Apple leaves Desmond in a comatose state, but once he wakes up they manage to activate the Eye, and Desmond sacrifices his life preventing the second Catastrophe. Once the narrative of later games shifts to the role of an Abstergo employee we continue to see Shaun and Rebecca’s chaotic adventures unfold in the background. Most recently we join a new present-day-protagonist, Layla Hassan, who – after losing her best friend to Abstergo while researching Bayek and Aya – teams up with the Assassins to continue her research.
The endless conflict over the Pieces of Eden could go on for a thousand more years – or at least until Ubisoft decide to stop making “Assassin’s Creed” games. With more lore getting added with every yearly instalment, only time will tell how this timeline will continue to develop. All we know for sure is that nothing is true, and everything is permitted.
Wed, Oct 24, 12:14 PM (13 days ago)
to s
Assassin’s Creed Timeline Explained
Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed” franchise is a sprawling epic chronicling the endless struggle between the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order. However, with this much content comes a decade of lore, protagonists and time periods. Because of this, explaining the convoluted timeline of this hit series is no simple task – but we’ll give it a shot. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re breaking down the Assassin’s Creed Timeline.
The story begins in the year 75,111 BC with the Isu race, AKA the “Precursor” civilization. This advanced civilization created the human race as slaves and crafted an array of powerful artifacts designed to keep humankind subservient. Problems arose when two Human-Isu hybrids, Adam and Eve, led a rebellion and stole one of these artifacts, dubbed the “Apple of Eden” launching a full-on war between Humans and Isu. During this time, three Isu scientists, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, worked together to preserve their civilization by building enormous vaults under threat of “the Great Catastrophe.” This catastrophe arrived in the form of a devastating solar flare which nearly wiped out both species and destroyed the planet. To prevent the inevitable “Second Disaster” which would devastate the world yet again in the year 2012 A.D., Minerva built “the Eye”, a device that could re-write the calculations of existence itself. However, Minerva learned that Juno planned to use the device to rule over the survivors of the “Great Catastrophe” and destroyed her creation rather than let it fall into the wrong hands. Unbeknownst to Minerva, Juno managed to repair the device while she was imprisoned in the “Central Vault.”
Tens of thousands of years go by until the Peloponnesian War breaks out between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC. The Assassins may not exist yet, but the Pieces of Eden are already being used by mankind – like the spear of Spartan Leonidas. This spear falls into the hands of either Alexios or Kassandra, his descendant, and they use it to bring peace to Ancient Greece.
Moving swiftly on through another four centuries, in Ancient Egypt, the Medjay of Siwa, Bayek, is grieving the loss of his son, whom he mistakenly killed in a frenzy brought on by malevolent masked men called the Order of Ancients. Living in Mesopotamia under the tyrannical rule of Ptolemy XIII, Bayek and his wife Aya seek vengeance for what happened to their son. During this time they ally with Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, who they help enter the tomb of Alexander the Great. The leader of the Order of Ancients and the man responsible for Bayek’s son’s death, Flavius Metellus, takes Alexander’s staff, which turns out to be a Piece of Eden, and combines it with an Apple of Eden to open a Vault in Siwa and reveal a map to the rest of the Pieces. Bayek is able to defeat Flavius and avenge his son's death. He, Aya and their allies become the “Hidden Ones”, pledging themselves to oppose tyranny and protect free will. They become the Brotherhood of Assassins, while the Order of Ancients eventually becomes the Templar Order.
Over a thousand years later, the Assassins are a powerful group in Syria, based in a fortress called Masyaf. In 1191 AD, during the Third Crusade, the leader of the Assassins, Al Mualim, betrays the Brotherhood and his prodigy, Altaïr, by siding with the Knights Templar in order to recover an Apple of Eden. Once Altaïr realizes he’s been manipulated by his mentor all along, he battles and kills Al Mualim, becoming the new leader of the Assassins. In the process, he accidentally activates the Apple, which shows him a map of the world with the locations of all the other precursor vaults and artifacts.
In 1459 AD, at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore da Firenze becomes an Assassin after witnessing the executions of his father and two brothers. He seeks revenge by going after the corrupt Pope, Rodrigo Borgia, who is in possession of a Staff and Apple of Eden. After unlocking a precursor vault beneath the Vatican, Ezio speaks to the Isu Minerva, who warns him, and his future descendant Desmond, about a looming second Great Catastrophe. Once Ezio escapes he remains in Rome to rebuild the Assassins and eliminate the Borgias, succeeding and then hiding the Apple underneath the Colosseum. By 1511 Ezio is much older and travels to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, seeking an ancient Assassin library. Once he finally gains access, he finds Altaïr’s 400-year-old corpse as well as the first Apple of Eden.
During the Golden Age of Piracy in the 18th Century, privateer Edward Kenway joins the ranks of the Assassins after mistakenly granting Bartholomew Roberts access to a precursor vault known as the Observatory. Turns out Roberts is a Sage: reincarnations of the Isu scientist known as Aita, the husband of Juno. Aita uses these Sages as vessels in order to be reunited with his beloved and to find a vessel for her so that she can return and control mankind. After defeating Aita in the form of Roberts, Edward vows to continue the Assassin legacy, but his son Haytham has other ideas.
Decades later Haytham has joined the Templars after his father’s death and has a half Native American son who is nicknamed Connor. Connor, by a twist of fate, becomes an Assassin in Colonial America under the tutelage of Achilles Davenport. Both Connor and Haytham play an important role in the Revolutionary War, but Connor never betrays the Brotherhood, and assassinated his father in 1781, burying the key to a precursor temple.
Templar Shay Cormac travels to Versailles in 1776 on a mission to eliminate the Assassin, Charles Dorian. This tragedy leads Charles’s son Arno to become an Assassin himself. Things get complicated when Arno pursues a relationship with his childhood sweetheart and adoptive sister Elise, the daughter of a Templar Grandmaster. Arno is framed for the murder of Elise’s father by yet another Sage of Aita, who is also leading the French Revolution as François Thomas-Germain. Arno and Elise confront Germain in a temple and find him in possession of a Sword of Eden. With Arno pined under a pillar, Elise pursues Germain alone. While engaged in a sword fight with Elise, Germain’s sword becomes unstable and explodes, mortally wounding them both. Elise dies in Arno’s arms, and Arno finishes off Germain with his blade.
Sixty years on, in 1868, the twin Assassins Evie and Jacob Frye travel to London to loosen the hold the Templar leader Crawford Starrick has on the city and, subsequently, the entire British Empire. His true intent: recovering the Shroud of Eden, which has miraculous healing capabilities that made him very difficult to kill once he found and donned it – the Fryes do manage to get the shroud off and kill Starrick, putting an end to his plans and relinquishing the Templar’s hold on London.
In the present day, Assassin Desmond Miles is manipulated into using an Animus by Abstergo – AKA the Templars – to access the memories of his ancestors, Altaïr and Ezio. Desmond escapes with Lucy, a Assassin who had infultrated the Templar Order, after discovering warnings about a second Great Catastrophe coming in 2012, and they, along with Assassins Shaun and Rebecca, attempt to avert this disaster. Turns out that Lucy had truly joined the Brotherhood after all. While Desmond’s body was under the control of Juno after making contact with an Apple of Eden, Juno kills Lucy through Desmond, as she knows that she’s secretly still a Templar. Making contact with the Apple leaves Desmond in a comatose state, but once he wakes up they manage to activate the Eye, and Desmond sacrifices his life preventing the second Catastrophe. Once the narrative of later games shifts to the role of an Abstergo employee we continue to see Shaun and Rebecca’s chaotic adventures unfold in the background. Most recently we join a new present-day-protagonist, Layla Hassan, who – after losing her best friend to Abstergo while researching Bayek and Aya – teams up with the Assassins to continue her research.
The endless conflict over the Pieces of Eden could go on for a thousand more years – or at least until Ubisoft decide to stop making “Assassin’s Creed” games. With more lore getting added with every yearly instalment, only time will tell how this timeline will continue to develop. All we know for sure is that nothing is true, and everything is permitted.
