Assassin's Creed: Full Timeline Revealed

Assassin's Creed Shadows may be the latest installment in the iconic series, but its setting in feudal Japan positions it at the midpoint of the franchise's sprawling historical timeline. This is because Assassin's Creed doesn't adhere to a chronological progression; instead, it leaps through time, exploring pivotal events from the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece to the early days of the First World War.

With 14 mainline games and counting, the timeline of these events has become increasingly intricate. That's why IGN has meticulously analyzed every piece of lore to construct a comprehensive timeline, detailing the series' overarching narrative and how each game interconnects. This timeline presents all the crucial events of the Assassin's Creed universe in chronological order.

The Isu Era

75,000 BCE

Before delving into the timeline, it's essential to understand some background lore. In ancient times, a highly advanced civilization of god-like beings, known as the Isu, ruled the Earth. They created humans to serve as their slaves, controlling them with powerful artifacts called the Apples of Eden. However, two humans, Eve and Adam, stole an Apple of Eden and sparked a rebellion against the Isu. This war lasted a decade until a solar flare wiped out the Isu, allowing humanity to rise from the ashes and claim the Earth.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

Set during the Peloponnesian War, the game follows mercenary Kassandra as she uncovers The Cult of Kosmos, a secretive group manipulating the conflict. Kassandra discovers her brother Alexios, kidnapped by the Cult and transformed into a powerful weapon, due to their shared lineage with the legendary Spartan King Leonidas, an Isu descendant. Kassandra's mission to thwart the Cult involves destroying an Isu device used to predict future outcomes and control the war. She ultimately reunites with her father, Pythagoras, who entrusts her with the Staff of Hermes, granting her immortality to guard Atlantis.

Assassin's Creed Origins

49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt

In the era of Cleopatra's reign, The Order of the Ancients, a shadowy organization allied with the Cult of Kosmos, kidnaps peacekeeper Bayek and his son to access an Isu vault. In a tragic turn of events, Bayek accidentally kills his son during their escape. Driven by vengeance, Bayek and his wife Aya dismantle The Order, which controls Egypt through puppet rulers like Ptolemy and by influencing Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Realizing The Order's global ambitions to control politics and religion using the Apples of Eden, Bayek and Aya form The Hidden Ones, a secret society of spies and assassins operating from Egypt and Rome.

Assassin's Creed Mirage

861 - Islamic Golden Age

Nearly a century later, The Hidden Ones have established strongholds worldwide, including Alamut in Iran. Basim, a street thief from Baghdad, is trained as an assassin and tasked with investigating The Order of the Ancients' activities in his city. He uncovers their plan to access an Isu temple beneath Alamut and helps defend the temple. Inside, Basim discovers a prison once holding Loki, an Isu considered a Norse god, and learns of his own reincarnation as Loki, fueling his desire for revenge against those who imprisoned him in his past life.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

Following his journey, Basim joins a Viking clan in England to pursue more members of The Order of the Ancients. The clan's leaders, Sigurd and Eivor, seek allies to establish their settlement, Ravensthorpe, while confronting the tyranny of King Alfred, a member of The Order aiming to impose a Christian regime. After discovering an Isu artifact, Sigurd experiences visions suggesting he is a god. Basim reveals that Eivor and Sigurd are reincarnations of Odin and Týr, and attempts to exact revenge. Eivor traps Basim in a simulation within the Yggdrasil tree and returns to England to defeat King Alfred at the Battle of Chippenham, becoming a hero to her clan.

Assassin's Creed

1191 - Third Crusade

Over the next three centuries, The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, while their adversaries, The Order of the Ancients, transform into The Knights Templar, both still pursuing their respective goals. During the Third Crusade, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, tasked by the Brotherhood to retrieve an Apple of Eden from the Templars, inadvertently causes the death of a fellow assassin. To atone, he assassinates nine Templar leaders, uncovering their plot to use the Apple's power. However, he discovers that his mentor, Al Mualim, had betrayed the Templars for his own gain, planning to use the Apple to impose peace. Altaïr kills Al Mualim and takes leadership of the Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed 2

1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

Fast forward to the Italian Renaissance, where Ezio Auditore da Firenze joins the Assassin Brotherhood after his family is executed by the Templars. Using his father's equipment and innovations from Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio wages war against the Templar-aligned Borgia family. He acquires an Apple of Eden, which reveals an Isu vault beneath the Vatican. After defeating Pope Rodrigo Borgia, Ezio enters the vault and meets Minerva, who warns him of an impending apocalypse in 2012 and hints at a network of Isu vaults that could save humanity.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance

Despite sparing Rodrigo Borgia, Ezio faces repercussions when Borgia's forces seize his villa and the Apple of Eden. In response, Ezio strengthens the Assassin Brotherhood, leading them to dismantle the Borgia regime in Rome and recover the Apple. He hides it in an Isu vault beneath the Roman Colosseum, keeping it safe from the Templars.

Assassin's Creed Revelations

1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War

In pursuit of more Isu knowledge, Ezio journeys to Masyaf, the former Assassin headquarters, to explore Altaïr's library. The Templars, also interested in the library, seek the keys to unlock it. Ezio allies with the Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople to thwart the Byzantine Templars' plans to restore their empire. Inside the library, he finds Altaïr's remains and an Apple of Eden, which projects a message from Jupiter about data crucial to humanity's survival. Realizing this knowledge is not for him, Ezio leaves the Apple locked inside, retires, and soon dies from injuries sustained over his career.

Assassin's Creed Shadows

1579 - Sengoku Period

While details on Assassin's Creed Shadows are limited, it is set during the Sengoku Period, with an African mercenary, Yasuke, and a Catholic Jesuit missionary arriving in Japan. Yasuke, serving under the powerful lord Oda Nobunaga, helps invade Iga province. Here, he encounters Naoe, daughter of a shinobi master, and despite their initial opposition, they 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 becomes entangled in a Templar plot after killing an Assassin and assuming his identity. He learns of their quest for The Observatory, an Isu device for spying on humans, which requires the 'Sage,' a reincarnation of the Isu Aita, to unlock. Edward allies with pirates, including Bartholomew Roberts, the current Sage, to locate The Observatory. After a falling out with Roberts, Edward retrieves the device's key, assassinates the Templar leader, and seals the Observatory, choosing the world's safety over personal gain.

Assassin's Creed Rogue

1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin, is sent to retrieve an Isu artifact from a temple in Lisbon, inadvertently causing a catastrophic earthquake. Stricken with guilt, Shay defects, stealing the Assassins' map of Isu temples. Rescued by the Templars, he rises through their ranks, killing Assassins and eventually tracking down his former mentor, Achilles, to the Arctic. There, alongside Haytham Kenway, Edward's son, they leave Achilles alive to prevent further Isu temple disturbances. Shay later suggests sparking a revolution in France in response to the American uprising led by the Assassins.

Assassin's Creed 3

1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

The Templars seek to unlock the Isu's Grand Temple. Haytham Kenway obtains the key and travels to the American Colonies, where he falls in love with a Mohawk woman, Kaniehti:io, and fathers Ratonhnhaké:ton, later known as Connor Kenway. After the Mohawk settlement is destroyed and Kaniehti:io killed, Connor trains with Achilles to become an Assassin. During the American Revolution, he eliminates Templars within the British forces and confronts Haytham, whose vision of Templar control conflicts with Connor's. Connor kills his father, buries the Grand Temple key, and thwarts the Templars' plans.

Assassin's Creed Liberation

1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

Parallel to Connor's journey, Aveline de Grandpré in New Orleans uncovers a Templar plot to control Louisiana. Her investigation reveals a larger conspiracy by the 'Company Man,' who uses slaves to unearth an Isu temple. Aveline gathers components for an Isu device called a 'Prophecy Disk,' discovering her stepmother as the mastermind behind the plot. After killing her stepmother, Aveline activates the Prophecy Disk, learning about Eve's role in the human rebellion against the Isu.

Assassin's Creed Unity

1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Arno Dorian, orphaned by Shay Cormac, is raised by the French Templar Grand Master and grows up with his adopted sister, Élise. Framed for murder and imprisoned, Arno joins the Assassin Brotherhood to track down his father's killer. Their investigation reveals a Templar faction led by François-Thomas Germain, who sparks the French Revolution. Arno and Élise pursue Germain to a Templar crypt, where he attempts to kill Arno with a Sword of Eden. The sword explodes, killing Élise and revealing Germain as the current Sage. Arno seals Germain's remains in the Paris Catacombs to keep them from the Templars.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

1868 - Victorian England

In 1868, twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye arrive in London to find The Shroud, an Isu device. They discover the Templars have infiltrated the city's industry, politics, and crime. While Jacob focuses on assassinating Templar leaders, Evie races to find The Shroud. After Templar leader Crawford Starrick steals The Shroud from Buckingham Palace, the twins assassinate him and return the device to its vault. Jacob becomes head of the London Assassins, and Evie later tracks down and kills Jack the Ripper. Their daughter, Lydia, eventually works with Winston Churchill during World War I to thwart a Templar spy network led by another Sage.

Transition Period

1914 to 2012

The Assassin's Creed series uses a modern-day framing story, bridging historical periods with the present. During this transition, the Templars establish Abstergo Industries, a pharmaceutical company in 1937, aimed at controlling the world through capitalism. By the late 1970s, Abstergo develops the Animus, a virtual reality machine that allows exploration of ancestral memories, hoping to manipulate the future through the past.

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

2012

In 2012, Desmond Miles, a bartender and descendant of Altaïr, is abducted by Abstergo to locate Isu artifacts through his ancestors' memories. With help from an Assassin mole, Lucy Stillman, Desmond escapes and joins the modern Assassin Brotherhood. Through Ezio's memories, Desmond learns of an impending apocalypse and the existence of Isu vaults. After a traumatic event where Juno possesses him, forcing him to kill Lucy, Desmond explores more memories, discovering the Grand Temple's key. Inside the temple, he sacrifices himself to activate Isu technology that prevents the apocalypse but releases Juno.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

2013

Using Desmond's genetic material, Abstergo continues its search for Isu technology by exploring Edward Kenway's memories. An unnamed researcher, "The Noob," is assigned to find The Observatory. Assisted by John Standish, Abstergo's IT head and the modern-day Sage, The Noob uncovers Juno's plan to use him as a host. Standish tries to kill The Noob to keep Juno's existence secret but is killed by Abstergo security, believing him responsible for unauthorized hacks.

Assassin's Creed Unity

2014

Abstergo releases "Helix," allowing public access to genetic memories. An initiate, guided by Assassin Bishop, explores Arno Dorian's life to locate the remains of Sage François-Thomas Germain, sealed in the Paris Catacombs. This keeps the remains safe from Abstergo's grasp.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

2015

The following year, the initiate searches for The Shroud in London through the memories of Jacob and Evie Frye. Abstergo retrieves The Shroud first, planning to create a living Isu. The Assassins learn of this plan and Juno's manipulation of Abstergo employees to sabotage it.

Assassin's Creed Origins

2017

Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus that can explore memories directly from DNA samples. In Egypt, she uses Bayek and Aya's remains to uncover the origins of The Hidden Ones. William Miles, leader of the modern Assassin Brotherhood, recruits Layla.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

2018

Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla relives Kassandra's memories and locates Atlantis. Kassandra, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes, reveals the need for balance between Assassins and Templars and prophecies Layla's role in maintaining it. Kassandra gives Layla the Staff before dying.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

2020

After detecting magnetic field fluctuations, Layla explores Eivor's memories, discovering the Yggdrasil computer in Norway. Inside the simulation, she meets Basim and "The Reader," Desmond's consciousness. Layla abandons her physical form to work with The Reader to prevent future apocalypses. Basim escapes with the Staff of Hermes, containing Aletheia's consciousness, and joins the Assassin Brotherhood to find Loki's children.