Echoes of History

Did pirates really bury treasure, fly the Jolly Roger and walk the plank? Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced avoids many of the clichés of pirate fiction. Yet staying true to history still includes tropes of pop culture pirates - there may be no talking parrots, but they still drink a lot of rum. Matt Lewis rejoins Dr Rebecca Simon to debunk pirate myths! Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 06:08 - Di...

In the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows , the legendary Hattori Hanzo embodies both samurai and shinobi warriors. As history's most famous ninja, he was also a samurai: his fierce dual nature earned him the nickname, "The Demon". How did Hattori Hanzo reach such legendary status? And what does his story tell us about the warring loyalties of late Sengoku Japan? Joining Matt Lewis to answer these...

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced puts us in the heart of the pirate world during the Golden Age Of Piracy: the island of New Providence and its capital, Nassau. As we roam around its highly detailed recreation in the game, we get a sense of what it was like to live in a place that wanted to be free from the yoke of kings and empires. But was it really a tropical paradise? Is its reputation as...

The Hagia Sophia is a landmark that has stood for 1500 years, and that players can clamber all over in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. It is remarkable not only for its longevity, but also for its blending of multiple cultures: their art, architecture, languages and faiths. It is as much a melting pot as the metropolis that surrounds it. To unpack this complex history, Matt Lewis is joined by Emily...

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced recreates the beautiful islands of the Caribbean in stunning detail, and introduces players to some of the most famous pirates in history. Why did the Caribbean, in all the world, became so associated with pirates? When did piracy in the Caribbean begin? And when did it end? Matt Lewis is joined by pirate historian Dr Rebecca Simon, author of Why We Love Pirate...

Assassin's Creed Revelations transports us to Constantinople, only a couple of generations after its conquest by the Ottoman Empire. It is one of history’s defining events, turning the city into the bridge between Christian West and Islamic East. Dr Gemma Masson gives Matt Lewis an overview of the events of the conquest and the impact it had on both the face of the city and the lives of the people...

Assassin's Creed III gives players a unique chance to take part in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and to influence the course of history. But why did the shot heard ‘round the world, that started the American Revolution, happem in a small farmtown with as many cows as people living in it? To help solve this colonial conundrum, Matt Lewis is joined by our cousin from across the pond, Don Wil...

The original Assassin’s Creed game focuses on the Assassins' efforts to bring down the Templars during the Third Crusade from 1189-1192. He encounters real figures from history, including Templar Grand Masters and Christian kings. One person who doesn’t appear as a character is the Muslim leader, Saladin. Nevertheless his presence - and his legend - is felt. The first Sultan of both Egypt and Syri...

Assassin’s Creed Mirage sheds a rare light on Banu Musa - the Sons of Moses. These genius brothers play a small but crucial role in the game, aiding the player with a wealth of revolutionary gadgets to overcome enemies and obstacles. Did these inventors really exist? And if they were so clever, why do we not list them alongside Archimedes, Thomas Edison or Leonardo Da Vinci? Dr Ali Olomi from Layo...

In the 16th century world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows , we meet the samurai as they had to be: soldiers in a world on fire. But today, we’re looking at the samurai as they wanted to be seen. In this special episode, Matt Lewis joins Dr Rosina Buckland, Curator of the Japanese Collections at the British Museum, to examine a 500-year-old puzzle: this suit of samurai armour. It has been passed down t...

The Ides of March is the best-known date in the ancient world, thanks to one of the most infamous acts in history: the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar. Assassin’s Creed Origins portrays Caesar at the peak of his powers, who was shockingly assassinated by a gang of Senators, including his most loyal friends and followers, like Brutus. What had Caesar done to deserve this? Who stabbed him first...

“Behind every great man is an even greater woman.” During the first century of the Abbasid Caliphate, the caliphs oversaw an Islamic Golden Age. These men expanded territory, science and the arts, leaving a lasting mark on human civilisation. But the caliphs were managed, sometimes manipulated, and even murdered, by the women at their side. Most notorious amongst these is Qabiha, the ultimate vill...

Wouldn’t it be nice to know the future? To have solid advice on what is about to happen in your life, so that you know exactly what to do when the time comes? For the Ancient Greeks, this wasn’t a daydream: it was a real possibility, thanks to Oracles.   The most important soothsayer was the Oracle of Delphi. Located high on the remote slopes of Mount Parnassus, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey recre...

The Great Heathen Army: the cool, or terrifying, name given to a huge Norse army that landed in England in the middle of the 9th century and stayed for 13 years, devastating the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The Viking leaders are semi-legendary, cloaked in the mythology of the Norse and the scaremongering of the Anglo-Saxons. Was the army really led by the three sons of the infamous Ragnar Lothbrook, as...

The Philosopher’s Stone: the source of infinite wealth and everlasting life. It is one of the most famous myths in the world. But for centuries, it was not a myth. Some of the greatest and most pioneering scientists in history believed in the power of the stone, and pursued its riches. Amongst them was Sir Isaac Newton. As is depicted in the audio drama Assassin’s Creed Gold , his private notes re...

The Assassin’s Creed games specialise in recreating the places and sounds of the past. But how can we know what music our ancestors listened to? If we can, how well does ancient music work within a modern audience’s expectations of what music is? And how does making music for a video game differ from all the other forms of entertainment we have today? Dr Holly Nielsen is joined by Steph Economou,...

Assassin’s Creed Dynasty provides a vivid recreation of China as it was 1300 years ago, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty. The story focuses on a pivotal moment for the emperors, when a huge rebellion plunged the empire into a civil war that took nearly a decade - and the brutal deaths of millions - to end. Yet despite this turbulence, the Tang Dynasty is often thought to have ruled over a gold...

Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry reminds us of an often overlooked turning point in history: the Haitian Revolution, when the slaves of Haiti overthrew their masters and the might of the French, British and Spanish militaries to create their own state. But this remarkable achievement was overshadowed by the American and French Revolutions, and has traditionally been viewed as just a byproduct of thos...

Grigori Rasputin is a household name, mostly thanks to the Boney M song. And such is Rasputin’s reputation that you can’t help but think of the "mad monk" when playing Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia , even though he doesn’t appear in the game.  Was he really Russia’s greatest love machine? Did he have supernatural abilities? Was he even an ordained priest? To help answer these questions...

Among the many cool characters from the Viking Age that are brought to life in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is Alfred the Great. Before his military success against the vikings, Alfred also boasts one of the all-time great comeback stories. In January 878 all looked lost: Alfred was hiding in marshlands, his army defeated and scattered, and the Vikings controlled his kingdom. The key event that almos...

When Portuguese merchants ran aground on the Japanese isle of Tanegashima in 1543, two worlds collided - Europeans encountered Japan for the first time. For the next 50 years, Portuguese and their partners flooded into this newly discovered land aiming to spread the power of the Christian Church and sell wares that could revolutionise Japan, like the powerful gun. But in the fiery cauldron of Seng...

Assassin's Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory transports players to the medieval Abbasid caliphate. One place in particular that is recreated in the game is the remarkable Jabal Ikmah, the ancient Open-Air Library. Here, on the mountains surrounding AlUla, archaeologists have found a treasure trove of texts that stretch across centuries in multiple languages and from several civilisations. Who made th...

Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory  recreates life in the AlUla oasis as it was over a millennium ago. Players can climb the battlements of a Muslim fortress, wander through an ancient city carved into the mountainside, and experience the vibrant sights and sounds of a medieval spice market. In this episode, Creative Director Olivier Leonardi divulges the behind-the-scenes secrets of h...

Assassin’s Creed III recreates many key events from the American Revolution, including the Boston Tea Party, when colonists resisted British taxes by dumping tea into Boston Harbor. But the game challenges the popular perception of the protest as a pure and noble defiance of tyranny. In fact, the legend of the Party started to develop nearly half a century after the event. What were the true motiv...

One of the most profoundly influential periods in history is the 5th century BCE, when when a collection of great minds in Ancient Greece formed the foundations of Western philosophy, medicine and history itself. How did ancient doctors heal the sick? How did historians share their research with a society that didn't read? What influence did female intellectuals have on the Fathers of Philoso...