“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 villain of Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Ali A. Olomi, historian, writer and podcaster, to talk to us about the lives of three formidable women in the medieval Middle East, and how they influenced the course of history from behind the curtain.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

Mirage Theme by Brendan Angelides, Layth Sidiq

Put Your Faith In Me by Brendan Angelides

Spices by Brendan Angelides

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 recreates the sanctuary in beautiful detail and allows players to meet the Oracle herself. She is as famous as she is mysterious. Who was the Oracle? Why was Delphi such a special place? And what sorts of questions did Ancient Greeks seek answers to?

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Garrett Ryan, the historian behind the wonderful Told in Stone. His excellent book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants answers 36 frequently asked questions about the Greeks and Romans that are both fascinating and fun to read.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

Legendary Heirloom by The Flight, Mike Georgiades

Delphi by The Flight

The Secret Land of Apollo by The Flight

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 depicted in Assassin's Creed Valhalla? What were they trying to achieve? And after Alfred the Great, would the Great Heathen Army have considered itself successful?

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Caitlin Ellis, Associate Professor of Nordic Medieval History at the University of Oslo. She'll be the guide to lead us on our quest for answers!

Listen to our previous episode about the time Viking invaders nearly killed their nemesis, Alfred the Great.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell, Matt Lewis

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

The Fate of East Mercia by Sarah Schachner

Rivers and Fjords by Sarah Schachner

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 reveal his secret pursuit of alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone.

How far did Isaac Newton take his alchemical experiments? What did the Philosopher's Stone mean to a rational scientist of Newton’s standing? And why was his research into alchemy only recently brought to light, even though he wrote over one million words about it in his personal notes?

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Joel Klein, Molina Curator for the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences at The Huntingdon, to explain the origins of alchemy and the science of the Philosopher's Stone. See the stunning Ripley Scroll in The Huntingdon's digital collection.

Listen to our previous episode about Newton's surprising career combating counterfeiting as Master of the Royal Mint in London.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

On Father's Watch by Chris Tilton

Ballroom Fight (Invention No. 13 in D Minor) by Sarah Schachner

The Nation, the Law, and the King by Sarah Schachner

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, the composer for the Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris and Dawn of Ragnarok, for which she won the first ever Grammy award for video game music. Rounding out the trio is Ari Mason, who performed on both scores, and who is a specialist in the art of historical performance. Together, they can shed light on the fascinating process of transporting us to the past through music.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Dr Holly Nielsen

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

Francia by Steph Economou

Hásæti by Steph Economou

The Siege Of Paris by Steph Economou

Dawn of Ragnarök by Steph Economou, Einar Selvik

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 golden age in Chinese history, characterised by peace, stability and the peak of ancient art.

To make sense of this apparent contradiction, Matt Lewis welcomes back Dr Jeremiah Jenne, host of the Barbarians at the Gate history podcast, and the historical travel podcast, By Their Own Compass. Listen to his fascinating recounting of the long history of the Great Wall of China.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

Theme Master by Aaron Miller & Mark Rutherford

Forbidden City (Calm Session) by Aaron Miller & Mark Rutherford

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 those famous rebellions. When did the Haitian Revolution take place? How did the slaves defeat both Napoleon's army and the British Empire? How did pirates influence the course of Haiti's history?

To learn more about what Haiti was like in the 18th century, and the key people and moments of the Haitian Revolution, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Erica Johnson, author of Philanthropy and Race in the Haitian Revolution, and contributor to the Universities Studying Slavery consortium, a huge research project to uncover and understand the links of US universities’ history with slavery.

Listen to how the American Revolution and French Revolution started with the Battles of Lexington & Concord and the Storming of the Bastille.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

False Paradise by Olivier Deriviere

The Storm by Olivier Deriviere

Ounsi by Olivier Deriviere

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 and more, Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Leonid Trofimov from Bentley University. As well as being senior lecturer in history and an expert on Russian relations with the rest of the world, he is the co-author of Seven Myths of the Russian Revolution.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music by Aaron Miller, Mark Rutherford

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 almost saw the end of Anglo-Saxon England was the Battle of Chippenham.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla recreates the battle and puts players in the heart of combat. But what do we really know about the battle? How big was a viking army? What did the Anglo-Saxons count as a 'real' battle?

To help answer these questions, Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Ryan Lavelle from the University of Winchester. In addition to writing Alfred's Wars: Sources and Interpretations of Anglo-Saxon Warfare in the Viking Age, he consulted on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Watch these interviews and exclusive videos on our YouTube channel.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Michael McDaid

Produced by: Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music:

Leofirth's Honor by Jesper Kyd

Frozen Lands by Sarah Schachner

Kingdom of Wessex by Jesper Kyd

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Sengoku Japan, Portuguese missionaries were but one player in the most bloody and brutal of political games.

Assassin's Creed Shadows delves into the tensions at the heart of this culture clash. Did Buddhist and Shinto Japanese accept Christianity? Why did the Japanese see Europeans as barbaric? Were Japanese warlords like Oda Nobunaga exploited by Western traders and church leaders, or were the Europeans unwittingly being exploited by the Japanese?

Matt Lewis and Prof. Frederik Cryns, historical advisor on the hit TV show Shogun, uncover how Europeans fit into 16th century Japan’s patchwork of daimyos and the momentous impact they had on feudal Japanese warfare and society.

This episode was first published on 20th May 2024. Watch it here on YouTube.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. 

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Anisha Deva

Produced by: Joseph Knight, Peta Stamper, Matt Lewis

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Music by The Flight

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.

Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.