Assassin’s Creed Shadows marks the latest chapter in the iconic series, set during the feudal Japan of the Sengoku period. This setting places it squarely in the middle of the Assassin’s Creed historical timeline, which doesn’t follow a linear progression but instead jumps across various eras. From the Peloponnesian War in ancient Greece to the dawn of the First World War, each game explores pivotal moments in history.

With a total of 14 mainline games and counting, the Assassin’s Creed timeline can be quite complex. IGN has meticulously analyzed every piece of lore to construct a comprehensive timeline that connects all these historical events in chronological order. Here’s a detailed look at the key eras and events that shape the Assassin’s Creed universe:

The Isu Era

75,000 BCE

Long before human civilization, the Isu—a race of god-like beings—ruled the earth. They created humanity as their servants and controlled them using powerful artifacts called the Apples of Eden. However, two humans, Eve and Adam, stole an Apple and sparked a revolution against the Isu. The ensuing war lasted a decade until a solar flare wiped out the Isu, allowing humanity to rise from the ashes.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

During the tumultuous Peloponnesian War, the mercenary Kassandra uncovers The Cult of Kosmos, a secretive group orchestrating the conflict. She discovers her brother Alexios, kidnapped by the Cult as a child and turned into a weapon due to his Isu lineage. Kassandra's mission to dismantle the Cult leads her to destroy an Isu device that predicts future outcomes. She 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, The Order of the Ancients kidnaps Bayek and his son in search of an Isu vault. After his son's tragic death, Bayek and his wife Aya dismantle The Order, which controls Egypt through puppet rulers and powerful figures like Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Realizing The Order's global ambitions to control humanity using Isu artifacts, Bayek and Aya form The Hidden Ones, a secret society dedicated to opposing such oppression.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

861 - Islamic Golden Age

By the Islamic Golden Age, The Hidden Ones have spread across the world, including a stronghold at Alamut in Iran. Basim, a street thief from Baghdad, is trained as an assassin to investigate The Order of the Ancients. He discovers their plan to access an Isu temple beneath Alamut, revealing his own reincarnation as the Isu god Loki and vowing revenge against those who imprisoned him in a past life.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

A decade later, Basim joins a Viking clan in England, hunting members of The Order. Clan leader Sigurd and his sibling Eivor seek allies to establish Ravensthorpe. They uncover King Alfred's tyranny within The Order, aiming to impose a Christian regime. Sigurd's visions reveal his and Eivor's Isu reincarnations as Odin and Týr, respectively. Eivor traps Basim in a simulated world, and after defeating King Alfred, returns to Ravensthorpe as a hero.

Assassin’s Creed

1191 - Third Crusade

Three centuries later, The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood. Their adversaries, The Order of the Ancients, become the Knights Templar, still driven to control the world. During the Third Crusade, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad works to retrieve an Apple of Eden from the Templars. His mission leads him to uncover a Templar conspiracy and confront his mentor, Al Mualim, who plans to use the Apple's power for world domination. Altaïr ultimately takes control of the Brotherhood after defeating Al Mualim.

Assassin’s Creed 2

1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

In the Renaissance, Ezio Auditore seeks vengeance against the Templars for his family's murder. Armed with his father’s equipment and innovations from Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio battles the Templar-aligned Borgia family. He discovers an Apple of Eden, which leads to a secret Isu vault beneath the Vatican. Inside, he encounters the Isu Minerva, who warns of a future apocalypse and the role of Isu vaults in averting it.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance

After defeating the Pope, Ezio helps rebuild the weakened Assassin Brotherhood. He becomes the leader of the Italian Bureau and leads the fight against the Borgia regime in Rome, reclaiming the Apple of Eden. Ezio secures the artifact in an Isu vault beneath the Colosseum, protecting it from the Templars.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War

Ezio travels to Masyaf to explore Altaïr’s library, which the Templars seek to unlock. In Constantinople, he allies with the Ottoman Assassins to disrupt the Byzantine Templars' plans. Inside the library, Ezio discovers Altaïr's remains and a message from the Isu Jupiter about the Grand Temple, which holds crucial data for humanity's survival. Ezio retires, leaving the Apple secured within the library.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

1579 - Sengoku Period

In the 16th century, an African mercenary named Yasuke arrives in Japan with a Jesuit missionary and meets Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke becomes one of Nobunaga's samurai and participates in the invasion of the Iga province. There, he encounters Naoe, a shinobi's daughter. Despite their opposing sides, they unite for a common cause, though the full details of their story remain to be explored.

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 to control The Observatory, an Isu device that can spy on anyone. Edward seeks the Sage, Bartholomew Roberts, to unlock the device. After betraying each other, Edward retrieves the artifact and assassinates the Templar leader, choosing the world's safety over personal gain. He returns to England to live with his family.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Shay Patrick Cormac, sent by the Assassin Brotherhood to retrieve an Isu artifact, causes an earthquake that destroys Lisbon. Stricken by guilt, he defects and joins the Templars. Shay rises through the ranks, thwarting the Assassins' plans and suggesting a revolution in France to counter the American uprising led by the Assassins.

Assassin’s Creed 3

1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

Haytham Kenway seeks to unlock the Isu Grand Temple, but fails. His son, Ratonhnhaké:ton (Connor Kenway), trains as an Assassin to avenge his mother's death during the American Revolution. Connor eliminates Templar influences within the British forces and confronts his father, ultimately killing him and burying the Grand Temple key to thwart the Templars' plans.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation

1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

Aveline de Grandpré uncovers a Templar plot to control Louisiana, involving enslaved people and an Isu temple. She assembles components of a 'Prophecy Disk,' discovering her stepmother as the 'Company Man' behind the plot. Aveline kills her stepmother and activates the disk, learning about Eve's role in the human rebellion against the Isu.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Orphaned Arno Dorian grows up in the Templar household of François de la Serre. Framed for murder, he joins the Assassin Brotherhood to track down his father's killer. Arno and his sister Élise uncover a Templar plot led by François-Thomas Germain to ignite the French Revolution. Arno assassinates Germain, who is revealed as the current Sage, and seals his remains in the Paris Catacombs.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

1868 - Victorian England

In Victorian London, twins Jacob and Evie Frye hunt for The Shroud, an Isu device. They uncover Templar control over the city and split to tackle their goals: Jacob assassinates Templar leaders while Evie seeks The Shroud. After defeating Templar leader Crawford Starrick, they secure The Shroud beneath Buckingham Palace, securing another victory for the Assassins.

Transition Period

1914 to 2012

During this period, the Templars establish Abstergo Industries, a pharmaceutical company, to control the world through capitalism. In the late 1970s, Abstergo develops the Animus to explore ancestors' memories and control the future.

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

2012

Desmond Miles is abducted by Abstergo and forced to use the Animus to locate Isu artifacts. With help from an Assassin mole, Lucy Stillman, he escapes and joins the Brotherhood. Desmond learns of an impending apocalypse and sacrifices himself to activate Isu technology to prevent it, unleashing Juno in the process.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

2013

Abstergo uses Desmond's DNA to explore Edward Kenway's memories in search of The Observatory. The researcher, "The Noob," is manipulated by the modern-day Sage, John Standish, who attempts to use him as a host for Juno. However, Standish's plan fails, and he is killed by Abstergo security.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

2014

Abstergo releases "Helix," allowing the public to experience genetic memories. An initiate, guided by Assassin Bishop, relives Arno Dorian's life to find the remains of Sage François-Thomas Germain, which are safely sealed away in the Paris Catacombs.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

2015

The initiate searches for The Shroud through the memories of Jacob and Evie Frye. Abstergo retrieves The Shroud first, intending to create a living Isu. Juno manipulates Abstergo employees to sabotage these plans, but the Assassins learn of Abstergo's intentions through hacking.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

2017

Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus that explores memories via DNA samples. She relives the origins of The Hidden Ones through Bayek and Aya's memories and is recruited into the Assassin Brotherhood by William Miles.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

2018

Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla explores Kassandra's memories and discovers Atlantis. Kassandra, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes, reveals the importance of balance between the Assassins and Templars and entrusts Layla with the Staff before dying.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

2020

Layla investigates Viking remains to explore Eivor's memories and uncover the Yggdrasil computer. She enters a simulation to stabilize Earth's magnetic field, meeting Desmond's consciousness and Basim. Basim escapes with the Staff of Hermes, which contains Aletheia's consciousness, and joins the Assassins to find Loki's children.