Europe

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A map of Europe

Europe is a continent or subcontinent comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, bordering the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east along with the rest of Eurasia.

Since at least the Roman era, both the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order have had a strong presence in Europe. The continent served as the primary housing for both organizations until the Age of Discovery, when they started expanding their influence around the entire globe.

History

Isu Era

The city of Atlantis

Millennia ago, Europe, like the rest of the world, was populated by the Isu, an advanced civilization divided in many factions. In modern Greece, the Sister Realms of Atlantis, Elysium, and Underworld were ruled respectively by Poseidon, Persephone, and Hades. In Norway, the Æsir of Asgard were led by Odin. To stop the war between the Æsir and the Vanir led by Freyr, Odin married Freyja, Freyr's twin sister, uniting the two people. Numerous Isu Temples were built across Europe, especially in the British Isles, Greece, and Italy.

The Isu scientist Phanes engineered humans as slaves for the Isu, who used Apples of Eden to control them. Phanes fell in love with a female human and they fled to Atlantis. She gave birth to Eve, the first hybrid who was unaffected by the Apples. As the number of hybrids increased, Eve, with Adam, led the Human-Isu War by stealing an Apple of Eden around 75,010 BCE.

During the war, Isu learned that an upcoming coronal mass ejection would ravage Earth. The Isu scientists subsequently searched for different ways to save the planet. The Capitoline Triad, composed of the Father of Understanding Jupiter, the Mother of Wisdom Juno, and the Sacred Voice Minerva, work on seven solutions. One of the them was the Rings of Eden Initiative led by Rah Cel'eze, adapting the technology of the Rings to deflect the solar flare. Inside a station in modern England, the Isu tried to create a giant shield to circle the Earth, but without the time and resources, they limited their goal to protect one city. Eventually, the initiative was shut down and the station was cut from the global grid.

The Æsir witnessing the Great Disaster

Knowing that the Isu would become extinct after the catastrophe while humanity would prevail, the Æsir, with Juno's help, stole "the mead", a catalyst for the seventh solution, permitting to store their essence into the human gene pool across eons. After this treason, Juno was outcast. In 75,000 BCE, just before the Toba Disaster, Odin, Tyr, Freyja, Freyr, Thor, Sif, Idun and Heimdall used the computer Yggdrasil with the Mead to store their essence before dying. The Isu Loki also secretly used Yggdrasil to take his revenge on Odin millennia after the Catastrophe.

After the Earth burnt for weeks, less than 10,000 humans and far fewer Isu survived. Jupiter, Minerva, and other Isu taught what they could to the humans to help reignite the spark of civilization. After a few centuries, the Isu became extinct, but they were remembered by humans as gods, composing the pantheons of different civilizations. While the Isu Temples were buried through time, the hybrids' descendants used Pieces of Eden to become rulers, heroes, and conquerors. Their feats were remembered as legends and the artifacts were perceived as magical objects.

Antiquity

Mediterranean Civilizations

Ruins of Knossos Palace

During the Bronze Age, many civilizations appeared across Europe, like the Celts in Western Europe, the Etruscans and the Romans in Italy, the Minoans in Krete and the Mycenaean in Greece, which was later seen as the cradle of Western civilization, influencing philosophy, art, politics, and science. The Trojan War was perpetuated through Homer's poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey, while Aesop's Fables also had a great impact on European culture.

During the Archaic era, the Greek culture was expanded by settlers across the Mediterranean Sea, in Sicily but also in Ionia and Cyrenaica. During the 6th century BCE, the scholar Pythagoras met the Isu Hermes Trismegistus who gave him his Staff of Eden, granting him immortality. Pythagoras founded the Cult of Hermes, a group that sought to keep balance between order and chaos. However, many Hermeticists favored chaos, and they eventually split off to form the Cult of Kosmos, which was led by a person under the moniker the Ghost of Kosmos to secretly control Greece. They found an Isu Pyramid under the Sanctuary of Delphi, permitting them to see possible futures and influence Greek politics. Pythagoras went to the ruins of Atlantis to protect its secrets from the Cult.

Athens' Acropolis

During the Classical Era, Greece was divided into many poleis, such as Sparta, Korinth, and Athens, which was one of the first democracies. Between 490 and 449 BCE, Greece was invaded by the Achaemenid Empire which was supported by the Order of the Ancients, a secret society emulating the Isu civilization by controlling humanity through Pieces of Eden. The Persians and the Order allied with the Cult of Kosmos, facing the Greek city-states alliance, Athens and Sparta among them. Even if King Leonidas of Sparta died with his army at the Battle of Thermopylae, the Greeks defeated the Persians at the battles of Salamis and Plataia.

Without a common enemy, Athens and Sparta fought for Greece's hegemony, creating the Delian League for the former and the Peloponnesian League for the latter. This led to the Peloponnesian War between 431 and 404 BCE, with the Cult of Kosmos infiltrating the two sides to gain control of Greece. Their plans were thwarted by the misthios Kassandra, granddaughter of King Leonidas, who assassinated each member of the Cult and destroyed the Pyramid with the Leonidas' Spear of Eden. The Order of the Ancients infiltrated the Greek institutions during the war but they were also stopped by Kassandra, who was helped by the Persian proto-Assassin Darius. Later, Kassandra helped her father Pythagoras to seal the ruins of Atlantis and inherited the Staff of Hermes, becoming its Keeper, tasked with finding and destroying dangerous Pieces of Eden like Korfu's Apple of Eden.

During the 5th century BCE, even through war, Greece stayed a beacon of culture with Athens as its first city. Sokrates and Plato developed Western philosophy with the Academy while Herodotos and Thucydides were dubbed the "Fathers of History". The poet Empedocles wrote in his On Nature his thoughts on human evolution while Hippokrates greatly contributed to medicine. In theatrical art, tragedies were represented through the plays of Aischylos, Sophokles, and Euripides while Aristophanes became the Father of Comedy, followed by Menander a century later. In the 4th century BCE, the philosopher Aristotle was at the Makedonian court of King Philip II to tutor his son Alexander. He later established in Athens his school, the Lykeion, with an important library.

Mosaic depicting Alexander the Great

In the late 4th century BCE, Greece was part of the Kingdom of Makedonia ruled by Alexander the Great. The Order of the Ancients granted him a Staff combined with the Trident of Eden, permitting him to conquer Egypt and the Middle East. His vast empire did not last as Alexander was poisoned by the Babylonian proto-Assassin Iltani, leading to the Trident being divided between his generals in Makedonian Greece, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and the Seleucid Empire, each ruler taking a prong.

In Egypt, Alexandria and its library became a center of Greek culture in Africa. Among its scholars was the poet Kallimachos, who rejected the epic format of Homeric poems, and instead fervently supported a shorter, more judiciously formulated style of poetry. The mathematician Euclid was seen as the Father of Geometry and wrote The Elements, laying out the foundational work of what would become modern algebra and number theory. During the 3rd century BCE, Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth.

In the Near East, the city of Seleucia-on-the-Tigris was also a center of Greek culture, known for its Stoic philosophers and its Olympic athletes. In the late 2nd century BCE, the collapse of the Seleucid Empire created a power vacuum that turned the region of western Cilicia into a pirate stronghold. The inhabitants were already known for their outlaw activities and military prowess, and the Cilicians established themselves as the most successful group of pirates in the ancient Mediterranean region.

Roman Era

According to legend, Rome was founded by King Romulus in 753 BCE and became the center of a Republic in 510 BCE. By the 3rd century BCE, theRomans expanded across the Mediterranean Sea, fighting Celts, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Persians. This led to the Romanization of most parts of Europe, with the construction of aqueducts, forts, and cities but also the enslavement of the defeated populations. The Romans used enemy technologies to add to their own formidable arsenal like the Catarginean ships or the Greek siege engines. De Architectura's author Vitruvius exemplified these two sides of the Roman conquest, as a military engineer and architect who developed Cyrenaica.

Caesar's assassination by the Hidden Ones

In 49 BCE, as a civil war erupted between the consuls Pompey and Gaius Julius Caesar, the Order of the Ancients killed the former and inducted the latter into their ranks. While Caesar rose to become the Order's leader, Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, and other senators allied with Amunet, a descendant of Darius and Kassandra. They founded the Roman branch of the Hidden Ones, a group dedicated to fighting the Order and protecting humanity's freedom. In 44 BCE, the Hidden Ones assassinated Caesar.

After the dictator's death, general Marcus Antonius allied with Caesar's nephew and adopted son Octavian. In 42 BCE, they defeated Brutus and Longinus at the battle of Philippi, the two Hidden Ones committing suicide afterward. Octavian took the leadership of the Ancients, and after defeating Antonius in 30 BCE, established the Roman Empire. His successor expanded the empire using the Prongs of Faith and Devotion. The expansion wasn't without resistance, like the Iceni revolt led by Queen Boudicca in 60 CE.

Hadrian's Wall

As the empire spread across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, the Hidden Ones established bureaus to operate in Europe. The emperors were often targets of the Brotherhood. In 41 CE, Caligula was killed by the Hidden One Leonius for allying with the Order of the Ancients. By 122 CE, Emperor Hadrian built a Great Wall in England and planned to lead a war against the northern native people. The Hidden One Caius tried to assassinate the emperor, but he was discovered and killed. In 164 CE, the Brotherhood made a deal with Emperor Marcus Aurelius to retreat the Roman troops from the Antonine Wall to Hadrian's Wall. In 211 CE, when Emperor Septimius Severus broke the deal, the Hidden One Khloe killed him in his villa in Eboracum.

During the transition from the Republic to the Empire, the poet Virgil wrote the Aeneid, the epic journey of the Trojan prince Aeneas, which strengthened the Roman identity. Roman civilization was greatly influenced by Greek culture. Ovid's Metamorphoses compiled Greek fables while the historian Plutarch made comparative biographies of Greek and Roman men in Parallel Lives. The Greco-Egyptians also continued to influence Rome, like the historian Arrian writing about Alexander the Great's campaigns. The scholar Ptolemy, through his Geography and Almagest, solidified geocentrism as the major astronomical model for centuries. The Berberian Roman Apuleius wrote The Golden Ass, a precursor of "picaresque style".

Saint Peter with a Staff of Eden

During the 1st century CE, Simon Peter, an Apostle of Jesus of Nazareth, arrived in Rome leading the Christian Church with a Staff of Eden. His successor inherited the Staff and later the Roman Emperors' Prongs, spreading Christianity in Europe. In some cases, Christians were persecuted by the Roman authority. In 306 CE, when the Belgae warriors killed Christians, the Hidden One Beatha delivered a letter to Emperor Constantine I pleading for the protection of the Christians. Later, the emperor authorized the new religion, and in 330 CE, rebuilt the Greek city of Byzantium as a New Rome and a Christian city, which later became Constantinople.

At the end of the 4th century, Theodosius I declared Christianity the official religion of the empire, and ordered the closing of polytheist temples. This particularly decreased the Order of the Ancients' influence throughout the empire. In England, pagan Britons were executed by Christians. The Hidden Ones Teague and his magister eliminated three priests to send a message to the emperor. In Alexandria, the Neoplatonist school was led by Hypatia until she died in 415 CE, ending the age of great ancient scientific discoveries. 

Attila the Hun

By the 5th century, as the empire was too vast to control, the legions retired from the peripheral provinces like England. The Hidden Ones also fled these provinces and established their strongest foothold across Mediterranea. The empire was invaded by Germanic tribes, the Saxons and the Franks among them. In 410 CE, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths and their king Alaric I. In Eastern Europe, Attila the Hun obtained a Sword of Eden and used it to expand his empire in central and western Europe.

In 476 CE, Rome and the Western Roman Empire fell. Only the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople remained, controlling Greece, Egypt, and the Near East. Even after the empire's fall, many ruins lasted for centuries and the Roman civilization held a lasting influence on the European countries.

Middle Ages

Dark Ages

Arthur pulling Excalibur

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes filled the political vacuum, with the establishment of new kingdoms. In the late 5th century, when the Anglo-Saxons invaded England, Arthur Pendragon received the Sword of Eden Excalibur from the Women of the Mist, a group of witch-warriors. Using its power, Arthur became the King of the Britons and a leader of the Order of the Ancients. The Women of the Mist's agent Mordred tried to recover the Sword for himself, founding the Descendants of the Round Table, but Arthur hid the Sword in an Isu vault. The Women of the Mist protected the vault, becoming an enemy of the Descendants.

In 536 CE, as Italy was under the control of the Ostrogoths, the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I sent the generals Belisarius and Narses to conquer Rome. During the Gothic War, the Romans took Rome but the city was besieged numerous times by the Ostrogoth of Totila. Eventually, Italy became a part of the Byzantine Empire, but in the 7th century, after Lombard's invasion, Byzantine settlers took refuge in Venice, establishing their own Republic.

In parallel with the king and lords, the bishops served as representatives of the Roman Church across Europe dioceses. Even if they were chosen among the local elites, bishops sometimes entered into conflicts with civil powers. Monastic orders also flourished like the Benedictines. The monasteries served many roles in European society, greeting pilgrims and dispensing education and care. Monasteries also became the place for political meetings.

Between the 6th and the 7th century, the Anglo-Saxons established the Heptarchy with the kingdoms of Wessex, Essex, Sussex, Kent, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. With the influence of Irish monks, the Anglo-Saxons adopted Christianism, as well as the Picts of Scotland. The Britons in Wales regularly fought with the Anglo-Saxons. During the late 8th century, Mercia was ruled by the Ancient Offa, who expanded his kingdom and built a linear military fortification known as the Offa's Dyke. After his rule, the Order established one of their last strongholds in England, even reaching Scandinavia.

Tapestry depicting Charlemagne

In 756 CE, the bishop of Rome established the Papal States, becoming the pope. As Rome and Constantinople were rivals for Christendom leadership, Pope Leo III allied with Charlemagne, King of the Franks and secretly a leader of the Ancients. In 800, Leo crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans. The Carolingian Empire spread across France, Germany, and Northern Italy and was seen as a spiritual successor of the Western Roman Empire. Later, the empire was divided into three but the Ancients kept their influence as Emperor Louis II of Italy also joined their ranks.

Islamic Caliphates

While Islam spread across the Middle East and North Africa during the 7th century, the Arab caliphates entered into wars with the Byzantine Empire. In the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate nearly conquered all of Spain. The last Christian states struck back, leading to the Reconquista, opposing the Christian and the Muslim states in Spain for over seven centuries. After the Abbasid Revolution in 750 CE overthrew the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus, the last member of the family established the Emirate of Córdoba in Spain.

Even if the Greeks and the Arabs were often at war, economic and cultural exchanges existed between the two populations. Many Greek merchants and architects went to the Abbasid Caliphate and the manuscripts of Aristotle, Hippokrates, and Ptolemy influenced Middle Eastern philosophy, medicine and astronomy, contributing to the Islamic Golden Age.

During the 10th century, the Fatimid Caliphate took control of Sicily. In 929, the emir of Cordoba Abd al-Rahman III founded a caliphate over Spain and Maghrib, challenging the Abbasids of Baghdad. In the 11th century, Europeans gained access to papermaking thanks to the Arabs.

In 917 CE, the Byzantine admiral John Rhadenos negotiated peace with the Abbasids and paid the ransom for captured soldiers, bringing gifts of silk, ivory, or precious manuscripts to the caliph.

Viking Age

Main article: Viking expansion

King Aella subjected to the blood eagle

In the late 8th century, the lack of arable land in Scandinavia led many Norse people to leave their countries. As a seafaring people, they became settlers and traders, but also Vikings, raiding the coast to loot goods and made slaves. The monastery of Lindisfarne was one of the first raided in 793 CE, beginning the Viking expansion.

One of the most famous Vikings was Ragnar Lothbrok, who besieged Paris in 845 and invaded the kingdom of Northumbria ruled by King Ælla, a member of the Order of the Ancients. After Ælla executed Lothbrok, the Sons of Ragnar invaded England with the Great Heathen Army to conquer it. When they killed Ælla in 867, Northumbria became a vassal of the Ragnarssons. East Anglia knew the same fate after the murder of the King Edmund the Martyr. As the Great Summer Army led by Guthrum expanded their control over the Kingdom of Mercia, Wessex, ruled by the Grand Maegester of the Ancients Æthelwulf and later his sons Æthelred and Alfred the Great, fought the Viking expansion.

The Norse also explored other regions. In the 850s, the Norwegian Ímar established the kingdom of Dublin in Ireland, which became an important trading hub under the rule of his son Bárid mac Ímair. In 852, the Varangian Rurik built the city of Novgorod in modern-day Russia. Sailing through the Danube, Varangians besieged Constantinople in 860. To stop them, the imperial family recruited them as personal guards, the Eagle Clan among them. During their expansion, the Norse entered into war with the Picts and the Britons.

By the late 9th century, Europe was the last stronghold of the Order of the Ancients. In 867, the Ancients helped the Chambellan Basil to assassinate the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. As Basil became the new emperor, the Order influenced him to kill his son Leo but their plan was foiled by two Hidden Ones from Alamut, Basim Ibn Ishaq and his apprentice Hytham. They protected Leo from the Ancients' repeated attacks and eventually killed the Order's leader Isaac, leading Basil to cut ties with the Order.

The Hidden Ones meeting the Raven Clan

In 872, Basim and Hytham traveled to Norway and allied with the Raven Clan to fight the Ancients. After helping Harald Fairhair unify Norway, the Raven Clan and the Hidden Ones migrated to England, establishing the settlement of Ravensthorpe in Mercia and a bureau for the British Hidden Ones. Hytham enlisted the help of the shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir to track the Ancients, and also received clues from an anonymous informant known as the "Poor Fellow-Soldier of Christ". This was none other than King Alfred of Wessex, who sought to reform the Order, deeming its Isu worship as heretical. By 878, with all the members dead, Alfred reformed the Ancients as the Templar Order.

During this period, the Æsir's human incarnations appeared, such as Thor's incarnation Halfdan Ragnarsson and Freyr's as Harald Fairhair. Tyr's and Odin's incarnations were Sigurd Styrbjornsson and Eivor Varinsdottir from the Raven Clan. Basim Ibn Ishaq was Loki's incarnation and tried to take his revenge on Odin but it ultimately failed after he was trapped in Yggdrasil's simulations for centuries.

The Battle of Chippenham

While tracking the Ancients, Eivor tried to conquer all of England and entered into conflict with King Alfred. In 878, during the Battle of Chippenham, Eivor and her allies fought Alfred's army. After his defeat, Alfred hid at Athelnay where he met Eivor to reveal their secret alliance. Later, Alfred's army defeated the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Edington. The king established peace with Guthrum, who converted to Christianity and became King of East Anglia. During the following decades, the Norse adopted Christianity and the two societies were unified as the Kingdom of England.

While the Ancients were collapsing, other secret organizations were active in the British Isles. After Eivor recovered Excalibur, both the Descendants of the Round Table and the Women of the Mist tried to steal the Sword of Eden, but the Hidden Ones allied with the witch warrior Niamh of Argyll to hide the Piece of Eden. In Scotland, a Christian sect led by Saint Columba the Reborn used the Codex of Eden to convert the population. Both the Hidden Ones and Templars took interest in the group. Their headquarters in the Loch Ness Temple was flooded by the Hidden Ones while the Templars recovered fragments of the Codex.

By 879, the Children of Danu, a secret society dedicated to defending the Gaelic culture through violent ways, spread fear among the Christians and Norse in Ireland. The Children planned to assassinate the High King Flann Sinna to destabilize Ireland but they failed and were eliminated by Eivor. Their actions led to further persecutions against the druids by the Christians.

Vikings raiding Paris' streets

In the 880s, the Carolingian Empire was once again unified under Charles the Fat, who was manipulated by the Bellatores Dei, a zealous Christian sect believing that Francia had fallen into apostasy. In 886, after the Bellatores killed jarl Sinric of the Elgring Clan, his brother Sigfred led the Siege of Paris with the help of Eivor. Despite Count Odo and some Bellatores members leading the city's defenses, the Vikings stormed Paris. Eivor and Odo made a truce to spare the citizens while Charles paid the Elgring Clan to leave, weakening his leadership. Later, Eivor eliminated the Bellatores, saving Queen Richardis and defeating Charles in a duel. In 887, Charles was deposed and Odo became King of Western Francia, leading to the collapse of the Carolingian Empire and the rise of feudalism.

During the following years, Eivor explored other Isu sites on the British Isles. On the Isle of Skye, she helped Kassandra to recover an Apple of Eden, ending the nightmares the artifact had induced in the population. Eivor also met the mystic Hildiran and uncovered Freyja's Cave and Odin's Vault. Hildiran was revealed to be a descendant of the Valkyrie Hildr, who had been imprisoned by Odin and sought vengeance. Eivor defeated her and Hilderan pledged her loyalty to the jarlskona. Near Ravensthorpe, Eivor prevented the Eden Ring Station from exploding by removing the Blazing Sword, shutting down the generators. In 889, as Odin's memories became more vivid, Eivor left England and settled in Vinland.

During the 9th century, the Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople compiled in his Bibliotheca the review of 300 books. During the 10th century, the bishop Liutprand of Cremona went to Constantinople as an emissary and wrote a book relating his experience.

In 962, the King of East Francia and Italy Otto established the Holy Roman Empire, controlling most of central Europe. Owning the Prong of Devotion, he granted the artifact to the bishop Poppa to convert Denmark to Christianity. Poppa baptized Denmark's king Harald Bluetooth, who kept the prong and joined the Templars. In 975 in Sweden, the Hidden Ones assassinated King Olof Björnsson and promoted his brother Eric as his successor. Olof's son, Styrbjörn the Strong, allied with Harald to invade Sweden, using the Prong. In 985, at the Battle of Fýrisvellir, Styrbjörn's army was defeated and the Prong was taken by the Hidden One Thorvald Hjaltason. He entrusted the artifact to the warrior Östen Jorundsson, who hid it on his farm.

The handover of the city keys to William the Conqueror, Bayeux Tapestry, scene 27

The Vikings also explored the Atlantic Ocean, settling in Iceland by the 9th century. Around 1000, according to the sagas, Leif Ericson participated in a Viking expedition to North America, establishing a colony in Vinland.

In the middle of the 11th century, the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, led his army against the County of Britain. He eventually became King of England, and the Bayeux Tapestry was created to serve as an illustrated document of his life. Later, the Normans conquered Naples, ruling it for three centuries.

High Middle Age

By the 11th century, European Christendom was divided between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox Churches in the East. In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade to recover the Holy Land from Muslim rule. Peasants, and later lords and knights, participated to the siege of Jerusalem in 1099, establishing the Crusader states for two centuries.

Hughes de Payens, Grand Master of the Templar Order

In this context, many military orders were created to protect the pilgrims, the Knights Hospitalier among them. During the council of Troyes in 1129, with the support of Bernard de Clairvaux, the Templars were officially recognized as the Knights Templars, with Hugues de Payens serving as their first Grand Master. They established strongholds in the Middle East but also in Europe, becoming an important economic infrastructure in Christendom. During this time, they fought the Assassins, a reformed incarnation of the Hidden Ones that had established a state in the Middle East.

In the 12th century, reality and fiction were sometimes blurred in writing. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote The History of the Kings of Britain, a pseudo-historical work claiming to use earlier sources. The pre-Christian Germanic poem Nibelungenlied was written in Germany. The Digenes Akritas told the epic story of Basil during the Arab-Byzantine wars. During the 13th century, the Aberdeen Bestiary was written, representing mythical creatures while the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson wrote the Heimskringla, a collection of Old Norse sagas.

In 1202, during the Fourth Crusade, Venice's fleet transported the Crusaders, leading to the sack of Constantinople in 1204. This shattered the Byzantine Empire while the Crusaders established the Latin Empire in Greece and Venice and occupied many islands of the Aegean Sea. Consequently, Venetian and Genoan merchants would settle in Constantinople. During this time, the Levantine Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad failed to establish a guild in the city due to the sack, but in 1257, he sent the Venetian explorer brothers Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, who succeeded. In 1261, the Latin Emperor was expelled from Constantinople and Michael VIII Palaiologos re-established the Byzantine Empire, albeit reduced to a fraction of its former land. In 1269, the Polo brothers established an Assassin guild in Venice.

At the dawn of the 13th century, two Mendicant orders were created: the Franciscans and the Dominicans, making a vow of poverty while preaching in the cities. In 1231, Pope Gregory IX initiated the Medieval Inquisition, to bring order to the process of dealing with heresy and prevent mob justice. Both Franciscan and Dominican members were appointed as papal inquisitors.

A page of Epistola de Magnete

Between the 12th and 13th centuries, thanks to Arabic translations, Europe had access to Greek and Indian philosophical and mathematical knowledge. Scientific fields evolved, like magnetism with the Epistola de Magnete, while the philosopher Roger Bacon compiled in his Opus Majus and Opus Minus treatises on natural science, mathematics, grammar, physics, optics, and philosophy for Pope Clement IV.

By the mid-13th century, the Mongol Empire expanded into Eastern Europe. In 1241, the Mongol army defeated Poland in the Battle of Legnica. During the battle, the Mongol prince Möngke Khan captured a Templar who introduced him to the Order's ideology, inspiring Möngke to create the Mongolian Rite of the Templar Order.

During this time, the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, paid tribute to the Golden Horn to protect his country. In 1263, the Mongolian Assassin Nergüi killed Nevsky, believing that his alliance with the Mongols hid something else. Accompanying his father and uncle to Kublai Khan's court, the Assassin Marco Polo recovered Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex and brought it to Venice. He wrote an exaggerated account of his 20 years in the Far East. Polo was also acquainted with the Italian Assassin Dante Alighieri, who wrote the Divine Comedy.

Jacques de Molay burning at the stake before King Philip IV and Pope Clement V

In 1291, Acre was captured by the Mamluks, ending the Crusader states. The Templars retreated to Europe, where Jacques de Molay, a Sage of the Isu Aita, became Grand Master in 1292. In 1307, the Mentor of the French Assassins, Guillaume de Nogaret, manipulated King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V to arrest the Templars. On 13 October 1307, the Temple of Paris was stormed by Assassins disguised as Flemish mercenaries, and the Grand Master was captured. While the Assassins tracked the last Templars across Europe, de Molay told nine of his lieutenants the secrets of the Order and tasked them to reform the Templars as a secret organization. In 1314, de Molay was burnt at the stake, officially ending the Templar Order and allowing the surviving members to operate in the shadows.

In the 1320s, the Templars killed Dante Alighieri and Marco Polo, revealing their continued existence to the Assassins. Dante's pupil, Domenico, destroyed Altaïr's Codex and scattered its pages to prevent the Templars from obtaining the journal. Later, he relocated to the Sienan city of Monteriggioni, which became the headquarters of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, and founded the noble House of Auditore.

Late Middle Ages

Black Death and Hundred Years' War

Main article: Hundred Years' War

The Brothers of the Cross during the plague

The Late Middle Ages were a turbulent time for Europe, struck first by the Great Famine (1315–1322), and then by the Black Death between 1346 and 1353, killing hundreds of millions. In 1350, the Templars posed as the Brothers of the Cross, traveling across the Holy Roman Empire and promising protection from the disease while searching for the Ankh, a Piece of Eden rumored to be located in Essen. The group mysteriously vanished alongside the Assassin Lukas Zurburg.

During the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in Middle English The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories detailing the lives and concerns of a group of Christian pilgrims making their way to Canterbury Cathedral.

Jeanne d'Arc with the Sword of Eden

Between 1337 and 1453, the French House of Valois and the English House of Plantagenet fought in the Hundred Years' War for the throne of France. The Templars influenced the latter stages of the conflict, mainly through their members John of Bedford, who served as regent in France for Henry VI of England, Duke Philip III of Burgundy, and the chamberlain Georges de la Trémoille. The three Templars plotted to control the weak-willed Charles VII of France but his mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon, who served as the Mentor of the French Assassins, thwarted their plan.

Yolande later recruited Jeanne d'Arc, a peasant girl with a high concentration of Isu DNA and possessing a Sword of Eden. With the artifact, she led the French army to victory, strengthening Charles's legitimacy. In 1430, the Templars captured Jeanne, recovering the Sword and condemning her to be burned at the stake. The Assassins secretly saved her.

Fall of Byzantine Empire

In 1301, the Byzantine Empire was defeated at the Battle of Bapheus by Muslim Turks led by Osman I. Expanding on the Byzantine territories in Anatolia and Thrace, Osman I founded the Ottoman Empire. In 1397, Sultan Bayezid I tried to conquer Constantinople but failed. To counter the Ottoman threat, the Byzantine emperors tried to ally with the Catholic West but this was limited. During the conflict, the Byzantines hired Spanish mercenaries like the Almogavars to fight the Turks. Among them was Ramon Muntaner, who wrote his Cronica about the defense of Constantinople. Through the dervshirme system, the Ottomans enrolled slave Christian boys from the Balkans to serve as Janissaries, their elite soldiers.

In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II, wielding an Apple of Eden, conquered Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. Even if many churches of the city were transformed into mosques, the Ottomans authorized the Orthodox Church to stay in the city, and Constantinople became the cosmopolitan capital of the empire. The Valencian Joanot Martorell wrote Tirant lo Blanch, a romance novel set in the Byzantine Empire, full of sensuous vitality, chivalrous daring, and good humor.

During their expansion, the Ottomans came into conflict with Wallachia and the Republic of Venice. At some point, the Assassin Mentor and Grand Vizier Ishak Pasha forged a peace with the empire, permitting the Brotherhood to flourish in Constantinople. In 1476, during an anti-Ottoman uprising in Hungary, Pasha defeated Vlad Tepes, the Voivode of Wallachia and a Templar. Vlad died shortly after and his head was brought to Constantinople as a gift to the sultan.

Italian Renaissance

Main article: Renaissance

Florence, the heart of the Italian Renaissance

By the 14th century, the Italian city-states became the cradle of the Renaissance, an intellectual and artistic cultural movement emulating the revival of classical Greco-Roman studies and also the new philosophy of humanism. The creation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439 in Strasbourg permitted the mass production of books and the spreading of Renaissance ideas across Europe. The Republic of Venice became one of the wealthiest cities in the world thanks to its fleet, even defeating the Republic of Genoa on the sea. In the Republic of Florence, its leading statesman Lorenzo de' Medici sponsored many artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the city became the center of the Renaissance. In 1460, the Hermeticist teaching was rediscovered through the work of Marsilio Ficino.

During this period, the Italian Templars led by Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia planned to unify Italy under their banner. As they supported the House of Pazzi's plot to control Florence and the House of Barbarigo's scheme to claim Venice, the Italian Assassins led by the House of Auditore thwarted their plans. The two factions also searched for Altaïr's Codex pages to find an Isu vault in Italy. In 1488, the Templars brought Mehmet II's Apple of Eden from Cyprus to Venice but the Assassins seized it. While escorting it to Forlì, the Templars led an attack on the city. The two groups lost the artifact as the monk Girolamo Savonarola took the Apple.

Spanish Inquisition and Fall of Granada

Main article: Spanish Inquisition

In the late 15th century, the Christian kingdoms of Spain began to unite. Around 1458, Pope Callixtus III gave to King Alfonso V of Aragon the Prong of Faith that was later inherited by his successors. In 1478, after King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile married, the Spanish Inquisition was established to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, prosecuting anyone suspected of being a heretic for nearly four centuries. The Master Templar Tomás de Torquemada became the Grand Inquisitor and branded the Spanish Assassins as heretics to hunt them.

In 1481, the first auto-da-fé happened in Seville, with six persons burnt at the stake. In 1483, the Jews were expelled from Andalusia and a new court was formed with a 30-day grace period for Jews to renounce their religion. Torture was used to extract confessions and relapsed Jews were burned. In 1492, the Alhambra Decree formally expelled all Jews from Spain. Tens of thousands were baptized in the three months before the deadline for expulsion. Around 40,000 left the country.

The Siege of Granada

In the late 1480s, Spain entered into war with the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state in Iberia. By 1491, the Assassins allied with Emir Muhammad XII of Granada and entrusted him with an Apple of Eden. The Templars abducted the emir's son Ahmed to ransom him for the Apple, while also advising Muhammad to continue resisting the Spanish siege of Granada. The Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze convinced the emir to surrender, while the Spanish Assassin Aguilar de Nerha recovered the Apple from the Templars and entrusted it to the navigator Christoffa Corombo. With the Treaty of Granada, Spain was unified by the Catholic kingdoms, ending the Reconquista.

By 1498, Tomás de Torquemada gathered the parts of the Shattered Staff of Eden and went to the Isu Forge under the Real Monasterio de Santo Tomás in Avila to repair the artifact. With the Staff, the Templar created an army of tangible holograms but was killed by the Spanish Assassins, who destroyed the Staff, leading to the collapse of the Forge. In 1504, the Brotherhood assassinated Queen Isabella of Castile as she was influenced by the Templars. In 1511, the Grand Inquisitor Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros accused the Assassins of having killed a cardinal, but the Brotherhood brought him the true culprits.

Early Modern Era

Italian Wars

Main article: Italian Wars

In 1492, the Grand Master of the Italian Rite, Rodrigo Borgia, became Pope Alexander VI, increasing the Templar influence across Europe, with Rome at its center. In 1494, France invaded the Italian peninsula, beginning the Italian Wars, opposing the French, the Spanish, and the Italians for over six decades. During the conflict, Girolamo Savonarola took control of Florence with the Apple of Eden in his possession and established a theocracy. During the Bonfire of the Vanities, both the Assassins and Templars tried to recover the Piece of Eden. In 1498, the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore took the Apple, ending Savonarola's rule while Florence became a republic once again.

The Assassin Brotherhood in Rome

While Rodrigo tried to unify Italy through conspiracies, his son Cesare Borgia allied with the French to conquer the peninsula. In January 1500, after his father was defeated by Ezio in the Vatican, Cesare led an attack on the Assassin headquarters of Monteriggioni, killing their leader Mario Auditore and taking back the Apple of Eden. Ezio relocated the Assassins to Rome, recruiting its harassed citizens into the Brotherhood to fight the Templars both in Italy and across Europe. In 1503, the Assassins took back the Apple and freed Rome from the Borgia's rule.

After Rodrigo's death, the new Pope Julius II had Cesare arrested and imprisoned in Spain. In 1507, following his escape, Cesare led the Navarrese army to take back Viana Castle from the Castellans and restore the influence of the Templars. During the siege, Cesare was killed by Ezio, thwarting the Templars' attempted return to European politics. Over the following years, the Italian Assassins continued to strengthen their influence, establishing a Brotherhood in Venice which retrieved the Venetian Staff of Eden.

During the Italian Wars, French culture was influenced by Italian arts. King Francis I of France hired the artist Leonardo da Vinci and granted him a home in Amboise where he finished his Mona Lisa. In 1519, just before he died, Leonardo met his friend Ezio one last time. On his deathbed, he wrote his last desires for the then-retired Mentor, asking him to find Havens across Europe to train the Assassins.

Ottoman expansion

Between 1499 and 1502, the Venice Republic and the Ottoman Empire were at war. During the battle of Zonchio, the Ottomans destroyed the Venetian navy and conquered Lepanto, Modone, and Corone. The Assassins from both sides permitted the peace between the two states.

In Lisbon, when King Manuel I of Portugal was influenced by Spain to establish the Inquisition and force the conversion, the Assassins protected some of the citizens and trained them to fight oppression. As many Iberians went to Constantinople to flee the persecution, Manuel infiltrated spies among the migrants but the Assassins replaced them. In the meantimes, the Spanish took control of the coastal cities of North Africa, Algiers and Tripoli among them.

Ezio Auditore and Yusuf Tazim watching over Constantinople

In 1509, Constantinople was struck by an earthquake and a civil war began between Sultan Bayezid II and his son Selim, who was supported by the Janissaries. In a plan to end the difference and the wars between the West and the East, Selim's brother Ahmet became the leader of the Byzantine Templars and searched for the Masyaf Keys to open the Library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and locate the Grand Temple. As the Byzantine soldiers took the streets of Constantinople, the Ottoman Assassins led by Yusuf Tazim and reorganized by the Mentor Ezio Auditore fought the Templars in the city. In 1512, the Assassins recovered the Masyaf Keys and eliminated the Byzantine Templars while Selim became the new sultan and killed Ahmet.

Across the Mediterranean Sea, the Ottoman Assassins fought the Templars. In Athens, the Templars bribed the Ottoman soldiers to loot the homes of wealthy citizens. The Assassins defended the citizens and killed the Templars in the city. In Rhodes, after the Knights Hospitalier captured many Assassins and killed the Master Assassin Castor, the Brotherhood attacked the Hospitalier compound Ataviros in retaliation. The Assassins also defended the island against corsairs attacks. As the Templars in Tripoli were commanded from Rhodes, the Assassins cut their communications. In Algiers, the Assassins fought the Spanish influence, allying with the pirate Hayreddin Barbarossa and protecting the Moors of Penon island.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mediterranean Sea became a battlefield between the Ottoman Empire and the Catholic states. In 1565, Sultan Suleiman I, an ally of the Assassins, ordered the siege of Malta, which was held by the Knights Hospitalier, but the Ottomans failed to take the island. From 1648 to 1669, the Ottomans besieged the Venetian city of Candia in Krete and took over the island. In 1687, during the Morean War, the Republic of Venice besieged Athens and inadvertently blew up the Parthenon by destroying the Ottoman's gunpowder stock with a cannonball.

In the 17th century, pirates from the Barbary Coasts were still actively attacking European ships. In the mid-18th century, the Assassins were influencing the French Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire to fight the Knights of Malta, provoking revolts among the Muslim slaves on the island.

Occultism and Scientific Revolution

Copernicus and Ezio Auditore observing the lunar eclipse

The Renaissance and humanism paved the way for new ideas. In May 1500, when the Templar astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus wanted to share his research on Heliocentrism, the Master of the Sacred Palace Giuliano attempted to have him killed. He was protected by the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore, who killed Giuliano during a lunar eclipse. The Brotherhood continued to protect Copernicus from the Templars in the following years. His research was only published after he died in 1543. Astronomy developped further with the work of Petrus Apianus in his Introductio Geographica.

In 1506, the Cult of Hermes was active in Rome, led by Ercole Massimo. After a failed attempt to take the Apple of Eden from Ezio, the Hermeticists associated with Leonardo da Vinci to find the Temple of Pythagoras. When Leonardo refused to help them, they abducted him and forced him to reveal the location. Ezio saved his friend, killing Massimo and his followers before discovering with Leonardo what the Temple contained. By 1509, the Cult's remnants were led by Seraphina, who sought revenge against Ezio for killing her father and brother. She allied with the Templar Francesco Rizzo to attack Monteriggioni while the Cult searched for the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus in Venice. Ezio eliminated both Seraphina and Rizzo and discovered that the Staff was a replica.

Giovanni and Maria running in the streets of Troyes

The Hermeticist teachings continued to spread among scholars. The Book of Abraham written by the alchemist Nicolas Flamel took the interest of both the Assassins and the Templars. By 1520, the physician Bombastus possessed one-half of the book. In 1527, he sent his Hermeticist apprentice Maria Amiel and the Assassin Giovanni Borgia to recover the second half in Paris but they found only a copy. Returning to Basel, they discovered that Bombastus had been driven mad by the book's influence and they stole the first part.

While the Grand Duchy of Moscow expanded, the Italian Assassin infiltrated the Kremlin in the late 1490s. As Ivan III of Russia was about to uncover the existence of the Brotherhood, the Assassins spread rumors about the revival of the Strigolniki Sect. In 1581, the Assassins killed the Tsarevitch Ivan Ivanovich, who was being influenced by the Templars.

Prague, city of sciences and occultism

In the late 16th century, the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague became an intellectual center, counting numerous scholars including the scientist Johannes Kepler, the alchemist Michael Maier, the painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and the writer Elizabeth Jane Weston. By 1587, the English occultists Edward Kelley and John Dee possessed the two volumes of the Book of Abraham and used them to create gold for the emperor. As Kelley became more obsessed with the book, Dee stole it and left the city. During this period, the Isu book later known as the Voynich manuscript was possessed by the emperor.

As Cosmology evolved, it was sometimes restrained by the Church. In 1600, the Roman Inquisition executed the scholar Giordano Bruno for his unorthodox beliefs, and in 1633 Galileo Galilei was arrested for promoting Heliocentrism. However, the Scientific Revolution happened, sponsored by the Templars to influence the rulers and the population in preparation for the establishment of their New World Order. To promote science and rationalism, the Templars influenced and used the research of Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke and Isaac Newton. Other scientists flourished during this period, like Athanasius Kircher, René Descartes, and Thomas Burnet.

Reformation and persecutions

Martin Luther

At this time, Christendom knew a massive change through reform. In 1502, the elector Friedrich der Weise of Saxe opened the University of Wittenberg dedicated to religious reform. The Assassins founded the construction using money stolen from the Templars. Fifteen years later, in the same city, the German monk Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five Theses to a church door, disputing the claim that absolution from sin can be paid for. Excommunicated by Pope Leo X and condemned as an outlaw, Luther became the figurehead of the Protestant Reformation, splitting Europe between Catholic and Protestant states.

The Church reacted with the Counter-Reformation, with Pope Paul III establishing the Roman Inquisition, while in Spain over a hundred Lutherans were put on trial and burnt in 1558, ending Protestantism in Iberia. In 1559, Pope Paul IV established the Pauline Index, a list of publications deemed heretical, anti-clerical, or lascivious that were banned from the Church. In 1563, the last session of the Council of Trent was held, issuing more condemnations of what it defined to be heresies punishable by death, and published the Tridentine Index, a list of forbidden books.

Depiction of Elizabeth I of England with an Apple of Eden

The Protestant Reformation had a major impact on some kingdoms. In England, King Henry VIII severed ties with the Catholic Church while his daughter Queen Mary I established back Catholicism, allying herself with the Templars. In 1558, Mary I was killed by the Assassins, who allied with her half-sister Elizabeth. In 1559, Elizabeth became Queen of England and restored Protestantism with the help of an Apple of Eden. In Belgium, both Catholic Spain and Protestant Dutch fought, leading to the Sack of Antwerp. In France, the division between Catholics and Protestants led to the French Wars of Religion and events like the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Henry IV, who was protestant before he became king, converted to Catholicism in 1593, bringing stability and peace to France.

During this era, persecution against unorthodox beliefs increased. In Spain, the Inquisition trialed bigamists, blasphemers, and witches. In 1609, King Philip III ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos, descendants of converted Muslims. An estimated 300 000, roughly 4% of the Spanish population, were forced to leave the country. In France, the Templar Pierre de Lancre instigated a witch-hunt in Labourd to recover the original Shroud of Eden from the Brotherhood. Even if some Assassins like Isaac du Queyran were burnt at the stake, the artifact was taken by the Assassin Margaux, who fled to the New World.

During the 17th century, the Freemasons society was created, assembling men of different religions. They were persecuted in some countries like Spain. Spreading to the New World, they brought an Apple of Eden to the Americas.

The religious division challenged the divine right of the monarchs. In 1605, Guy Fawkes and other Catholic conspirators planned to blow up the Palace of Westminster to kill the king and members of Parliament but they were arrested by Sir Thomas Knyvet. In 1610, the religious fanatic Francois de Ravaillac assassinated King Henry IV of France.

Discovery and Imperial Ages

Main article: Age of Discovery

The Jesuits Luís Fróis and Alessandro Valignano meeting Akechi Mitsuhide in Japan

By the 15th century, the European powers tried to reach Asian markets by sea, with Portugal spearheading the movement. The patronage of Henry the Navigator permitted the funding of many journeys. While explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama contoured Africa, Portugal established colonies on its coasts, such as in Angola, Príncipe, and Mozambique. Reaching India by the end of the 15th century and China in 1513, the Portuguese established an access point in Macau.

In 1540, the Society of Jesus was created with the goal of spreading Catholicism to Asia and other regions. The Templars Francis Xavier and Alessandro Valignano were both Jesuit missionaries who used their ties to expand the Order's influence in India, China, and Japan, the latter beginning trade with Europe.

Ferdinand Magellan's expedition arriving in Cebu

In 1521, the Spanish sponsored the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan's voyage, which had the goal of circumnavigating the world. Magellan's journey led him to the Philippines, where he converted the population of Cebu to Catholicism and discovered a Piece of Eden. While searching for another artifact on the neighboring Mactan Island, Magellan was killed in battle by the chieftain Lapu-Lapu. Despite Magellan's death, his voyage would be completed by his surviving crew and Spain eventually colonized the Philippines in 1565.

Through chartered companies, the different European powers established more colonies in East and Southeast Asia. The Dutch East India Company occupied the Indonesian archipelago, establishing a trade monopoly on the islands, while the English East India Company ruled a large part of India, having its own army. By the early 18th century, both companies also had a presence in Macau, from where they searched for Pieces of Eden and other artifacts in Asia, and often found themselves at odds with each other.

In 1492, the Genoan navigator and Assassin ally Christoffa Corombo crossed the Atlantic Ocean, intending to arrive in Asia, but instead discovered the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and Cuba. Claiming the islands of the Caribbean Sea for Spain, Colombo enslaved the native Taínos, leading to their near extinction in the following decades.

In 1501, the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci, working for Portugal, reached Rio de Janeiro Bay and Rio de la Plata. Vespucci highlighted that the lands were not part of Asia but a new continent. In 1507, the German cartographer and clergyman Martin Waldseemuller proposed to name them the Americas in his honor. Waldseemuller also established a map of these uncharted lands.

La Noche Triste

During the 16th century, the Spanish Crown expanded across Central and South America, its army led by the Conquistadores such as Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who respectively defeated the Aztec and Inca Empires. The Europeans also inadvertently spread diseases that greatly impacted the native populations, reducing their numbers. While Spain controlled most of Central and South America, and Portugal ruled Brazil, the French, British, and Dutch settled in North America and the Caribbean. To protect their colonies and trade networks from their rivals and piracy, the European powers created navies.

To exploit their newly conquered lands, the European powers brought slaves from Africa, establishing a triangle trade across the Atlantic Ocean. While Europeans sold goods in Africa, the local slaves were shipped to the Americas to work on plantations. The products of these plantations, such as sugar, coffee, and cotton, were shipped to Europe to be sold and transformed. This trade perdured until the 19th century, transporting an estimated 15 million Africans to the Americas. Among the slave traders were the Royal African Company. During these centuries, many slaves revolted, leading to uprisings such as the Maroon rebellion.

The Assassin insigna in Tulum

In parallel with the conquest and trade, the European powers also sent scientific expeditions. Many navigators searched the Northwest Passage to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans while the French Geodesic Mission accurately determined the roundness and shape of the Earth. The navigator James Cook chartered the last unknown lands in the Pacific Ocean.

Both the Templars and the Assassins from Europe infiltrated these expeditions, spreading their influences to the newly discovered lands. The Order infiltrated the new colonial powers while the Brotherhood primarily allied with the natives, the Tainos and the Mayans among them. While they had strong ties with their European counterparts, they also created autonomous Brotherhoods and Rites.

Ages of Absolutism and Enlightenment

Charles II's coronation at Westminster

Between 1642 and 1651, the English Civil War saw King Charles I's forces fighting against the Parliament's troops. After the king was trialed and executed, a Puritan Republic was established in the British Isles, led by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and later his son Richard. While the Stuarts' heir Charles was exiled to France, he was recalled as the population was dissatisfied with Cromwell's rule. In 1661, Charles returned to England and became king. In France, after the Fronde revolt, King Louis XIV left Paris and established his new residence in the Palace of Versailles, showing his control over the French State. The Palace became a symbol of the Absolute Monarchy and the Ancien Régime.

Between the 16th and the 18th century, the Baroque style influenced European architecture and paintings with artists like Claude Lorrain. The Dutch Golden Age painting was held by artists like Gerard van Honthorst, Willem van de Velde the Younger, and Pieter Claesz and even influenced British painting with Peter Lely. New musical instruments were created and instrument makers became famous, like Hendrik Richters with his oboes, and Antonio Stradivari with his violoncelli.

By 1688, King James II of England, who was an overt Roman Catholic, followed policies of religious tolerance and his proximity to France. Fearing that he established a Catholic dynasty, English Parliamentarians persuaded William of Orange to cross the English Channel from the Netherlands. James II was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution and William became king of England. The aftermath of these events led to the Bill of Rights and to restrictions to the monarch's power.

Denis Diderot

By the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment spread across Europe, challenging Absolute Monarchy and the power of the Church. In Spain, the increasing numbers of licenses to possess and read prohibited texts were granted and inquisitorial activity began winding down. Leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment pushed for the abolition of the Inquisition and foreign Enlightenment texts proved popular among members of the nobility and government. In France, philosophers and writers like Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Pierre Beaumarchais criticized the Ancien Régime, and Denis Diderot published the Encyclopédie, compiling knowledge on the sciences and arts. The Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith became one of the most influential figures within classical liberalism, introducing the concept of the "invisible hand" which greatly influenced the Templars.

In 1762, Tsar Ivan III of Russia was removed from power by a coup led by his wife Catherine and nobles. After his abdication, Catherine became the Empress of Russia and Ivan was assassinated, possibly by the Brotherhood.

The Montgolfière

In the 18th century, new sources of energy were discovered, like electricity that could be created through an Electrostatic Generator. In 1745, the scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek created the Leyden jar to stock electricity. Electricity was used in the Flying Magnetic Boy Experiments conducted by Stephen Gray and Abbé Nollet. Steam developped as a energy used for Newcomen engine and later James Watt's steam engine, permitting to waste less coal. New scientific fields developped, like chemistry with Humphry Davy and Antoine Lavoisier who isolated elemental potassium. In Leeds , the minister and philosopher Joseph Priestley made the first drinkable soda by performing scientific experiments above the vats in a brewery. In 1783, the brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier invented the first recorded hot air balloon and the first successful human-carrying flight technology.

Appearances

Assassin's Creed (first appearance) Assassin's Creed: Lineage Assassin's Creed II Battle of Forlì Bonfire of the Vanities Assassin's Creed II: Discovery Assassin's Creed: Renaissance Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy Assassin's Creed: Ascendance Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Copernicus Conspiracy The Da Vinci Disappearance Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel Assassin's Creed: The Fall Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade Assassin's Creed: Revelations Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel Assassin's Creed: Embers Assassin's Creed: Recollection Assassin's Creed: The Chain Assassin's Creed III Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (appears on map only) Assassin's Creed: Forsaken Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Assassin's Creed: Memories Assassin's Creed: Rogue Assassin's Creed: Unity Dead Kings Assassin's Creed: Unity novel Assassin's Creed: Syndicate The Last Maharaja Jack the Ripper Assassin's Creed: Underworld Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia Assassin's Creed: Identity Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus Assassin's Creed: Templars Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies Assassin's Creed: Heresy Assassin's Creed film Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization Assassin's Creed: Uprising Assassin's Creed: Origins Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods Assassin's Creed: Origins comic Assassin's Creed: Odyssey The Lost Tales of Greece Legacy of the First Blade The Fate of Atlantis Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories Assassin's Creed: Odyssey novel Assassin's Creed: Rebellion Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone Assassin's Creed: Gold Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory Assassin's Creed: Valhalla The Legend of Beowulf The Way of the Berserker River Raids Mastery Challenge Wrath of the Druids The Siege of Paris Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories The Last Chapter Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga Assassin's Creed: Valhalla webcomic Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice Roma Creed vs Crows (non-canon) Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Witches of the Moors Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Hidden Codex Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Assassin's Creed: The Golden City Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned in Database entry only) Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR