Podcasts · History · Leisure

Echoes of History

History Hit & Assassin's Creed

179 episodes

Dive into the real-life history that inspires the locations, characters, and storylines of the legendary world of Assassin’s Creed.

More about the show

‘Echoes of History’ is the official Assassin's Creed history podcast. We’ll head down the narrow side streets of Medici-ruled Florence, cross sand dunes in the shadow of ancient pyramids, climb the rigging of 18th century brigs sailing across the Caribbean and meet the most powerful warlords in Feudal Japan - all before hearing from the developers themselves to understand how and why these moments are recreated in the acclaimed historical game series.

Every week, join historian Matt Lewis, and regular contributor Holly Nielsen, as they speak to historical experts about the secrets of the past and uncover how these stories influence Assassin’s Creed.

A Ubisoft podcast brought to you by History Hit. History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. For more Echoes of History, including guided tours through the places of the past recreated in Assassin’s Creed, head to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@assassinscreedEOH

To find out more go to www.assassinscreed.com or find us on Facebook & Twitter.

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Episodes page 1 of 4

  1. Why Did The Great Wall Of China Fail To Keep Out The Mongols?

    · 50 min

    How long is the Great Wall of China? When was it built? Are there really skeletons buried inside it? Matt Lewis poses these questions and many more to Dr Jeremiah Jenne, co-host of the Chinese history podcast,…

  2. What Happened To The French Crown Jewels?

    · 53 min

    What really happened to the French crown jewels? On the 19th October, 2025, a gang of thieves disguised as construction workers broke into the Louvre. Their target: the Gallery of Apollo, where the French Crown Jewels…

  3. Life During The Russian Revolution

    · 56 min

    What were the main causes of the Russian Revolution? Why were the Romanovs murdered? Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia transports us to the tense atmosphere of World War One as Russia made the difficult transition…

  4. Who Was The Greatest Cleopatra?

    · 50 min

    Was Cleopatra actually Egyptian? It's a surprisingly important question. When most people think of Cleopatra, they have a specific person in mind. The Egyptian queen who married Julius Caesar and loved Mark Antony,…

  5. Athens vs Sparta: The War That Changed History

    · 56 min

    The unforeseen consequences of this war led to the first scientific history book, the birth of philosophy. and the rise of Alexander the Great. Assassin's Creed Odyssey puts us at the heart of the expansive conflict…

  6. A Pirate's Life In Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

    · 55 min

    Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Benjamin Hornigold... Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced recreates the key people, places and events of the Golden Age Of Piracy. The game puts players in the salty shoes of Captain…

  7. How Was The Minotaur Created?

    · 39 min

    How did Theseus escape the Labyrinth? Is the Labyrinth real? Who created the Minotaur? Assassin’s Creed Odyssey immerses players in the mythology of Ancient Greece. In particular, they can walk in the footsteps of…

  8. The Golden Age Of Piracy: Myths vs Reality

    · 52 min

    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…

  9. Hattori Hanzo the Ninja Samurai

    · 40 min

    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,…

  10. Life in the Pirate Republic

    · 43 min

    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…

  11. The Secrets of Hagia Sophia

    · 42 min

    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…

  12. Pirates in the Caribbean: How It All Began

    · 55 min

    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,…

  13. The Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople

    · 45 min

    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…

  14. The Battles of Lexington & Concord

    · 43 min

    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…

  15. Saladin: The Third Crusade's Greatest General?

    · 58 min

    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…

  16. The Da Vinci of Medieval Baghdad: Who Were The Sons Of Moses?

    · 45 min

    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…

  17. What Makes Samurai Armour So Special?

    · 44 min

    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,…

  18. The Assassination of Julius Caesar

    · 1 h 03 min

    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…

  19. Deadly Queens of Abbasid Baghdad

    · 1 h 09 min

    “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…

  20. Who Was The Oracle of Delphi?

    · 55 min

    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…

  21. The First Viking Invaders Of Britain: The Great Heathen Army

    · 56 min

    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…

  22. The Philosopher's Stone: Isaac Newton & Alchemy

    · 1 h 02 min

    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…

  23. Viking Age Music In Assassin's Creed Valhalla

    · 1 h 05 min

    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…

  24. The Tang Dynasty: The End of China's Golden Age?

    · 51 min

    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…

  25. The First Successful Slave Revolt

    · 1 h 05 min

    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…

  26. Rasputin: Russia's Greatest Propaganda Machine?

    · 1 h 08 min

    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…

  27. Alfred the Great's Downfall: The Battle of Chippenham

    · 1 h 12 min

    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…

  28. The First Europeans In Japan

    · 35 min

    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…

  29. The Ancient Open-Air Library of Jabal Ikmah

    · 50 min

    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,…

  30. Ancient Civilisations of Arabia in Assassin's Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory

    · 43 min

    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…

  31. The Boston Tea Party

    · 1 h 06 min

    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…

  32. Life as a Greek Philosopher: Socrates, Hippocrates & Herodotus

    · 40 min

    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…

  33. The Incense Route Through Arabia

    · 38 min

    Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory takes our hero Basim ibn Ishaq from the glory of Baghdad in the Abbasid era to the remote oasis at Al-Ula. There, he discovers mysteries hidden in the mountains and ancient…

  34. Who Were The Nabataeans?

    · 52 min

    Assassin's Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory takes players to the haunting tomb city of Hegra, a remarkable memento of the Nabataeans. Hewn from the hard rock of the mountainside are spectacular, seemingly countless tombs…

  35. The Roman Empire in Anno 117: Pax Romana

    · 43 min

    Anno 117: Pax Romana puts you in the place of a new Roman Governor at a crucial point in the history of the Roman Empire. Rome has never been more powerful but the mighty Emperor Trajan has died. You must choose how to…

  36. Daily Life in the Roman Empire

    · 54 min

    Anno 117: Pax Romana presents a different side of the Roman Empire - a multicultural world where people from diverse backgrounds lived side by side, and the necessities of everyday life are essential to success as a…

  37. Isaac Newton vs Counterfeiters at the Royal Mint

    · 49 min

    Everyone knows the great achievements of Sir Isaac Newton. Or do they? Assassin's Creed Gold focuses not on the first half of Newton's career, describing gravity and the fundamental laws of physics, but on the second…

  38. Revolutionary Paris In Assassin's Creed Unity

    · 48 min

    Assassin’s Creed Unity offers a stunning recreation of 18th century Paris, which in modern times is the home of Ubisoft. How did this setting affect the developers’ work? Did this personal connection make things easier…

  39. Vinland: Did Vikings "Discover" America?

    · 49 min

    Vinland, the mysterious place that may be somewhere in North America, and that players of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can explore in The Last Chapter, as a grand finale to the epic story. And story is the key word,…

  40. The Russian Revolution: What Really Happened?

    · 56 min

    Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia transports us to the tense atmosphere of World War One as Russia made the difficult transition from an imperial state to a socialist republic. But what was it like for the ordinary…

  41. Life as a Samurai

    · 38 min

    Assassin’s Creed Shadows recreates everyday life in Japan during the Sengoku jidai - the Warring States period - and highlights how reality doesn’t always align with pop culture perceptions of samurai as a noble elite.…

  42. Ancient Egyptian Architecture In Assassin's Creed Origins

    · 1 h 08 min

    Historians Review & Ubisoft Developer Interview with Maxime Durand In Assassin’s Creed Origins players can do what no tour group today can do: clamber all over and inside the monuments of Ancient Egypt, from the…

  43. The Ottoman-Venetian Wars

    · 54 min

    Ezio Auditore, the hero of Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed Revelations, travels from Venice to the Ottoman Empire. For centuries, these two rivals in the Mediterranean were at…

  44. Herodotus

    · 46 min

    You’ve probably heard of Herodotus, and in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey you’ll have met the man himself. Variously called the Father of History and the Father of Lies, what do we know about the real Herodotus, and what do…

  45. Alexander Graham Bell

    · 1 h 10 min

    Assassin’s Creed Syndicate transports us to the action-packed streets of London in 1868. Players set out on a quest to liberate the city from the grip of the criminal underworld. But they don’t do it alone. Supplying…

  46. Life in the Roman Army

    · 56 min

    Anno 117: Pax Romana is set in the year when the Roman Empire expanded to its greatest extent in all its history; and saw the death of Trajan, who is counted amongst the Five Good Emperors. Trajan was a general first…

  47. How Rome Built An Empire

    · 47 min

    In the new game Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Emperor has appointed you as governor, tasked with developing new provinces in the Empire. It’s tempting to think of the Roman Empire as, well, Roman. But by its very nature…

  48. Trajan's Projects In The Provinces

    · 45 min

    In the new game Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Emperor has appointed you as governor, tasked with developing new provinces in the Empire. The game is set in a big year for Rome: it marked the moment the Roman Empire…

  49. What Is Pax Romana?

    · 57 min

    In the new game Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Emperor has appointed you as governor, tasked with developing provinces in the Roman-based Latium region and Celtic-inspired Albion. The game is set in a big year for Rome: it…

  50. The Medieval Holy Land In Assassin's Creed

    · 1 h 00 min

    Ubisoft Developer Interview with Raphael Lacoste For nearly two decades, the Assassin’s Creed video games have transported players to worlds of the past. From the hot sands of the medieval Middle East to the frozen…

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