1. Culture

Assassin's Creed Shadows gives players the chance to experience history as two icons of medieval Japan: samurai and shinobi (known today as ninja). In this special series, Matt Lewis and Professor Eric Rath from the University of Kansas take an in-depth look at how these legendary warriors lived and answer the question, what is the difference between samurai and shinobi?

This episode explores the warriors' culture. Did samurai really live by a code called bushido? What were the guiding principles of shinobi? And what was daily life like for them - their hobbies, their religion, and their diet?

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Temple by The Flight

Roaming the Wild by The Flight

Naoe Combat by The Flight

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In the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the legendary Hattori Hanzo embodies both samurai and shinobi warriors, and earned himself the nicknam "The Demon". How did Hanzo reach such legendary status? And what does his story tell us about the loyalties of samurai and shinobi in Sengoku Japan?

Joining Matt Lewis to answer these questions and more are Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, authors of Ninja Attack!: True Tales Of Assassins, Samurai And Outlaws.

You can keep up to date with Hiroko and Matt's work on their blogs blog.hirokoyoda.com and blog.pureinventionbook.com

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Tim Arstall

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Explore Bamboo Forest by The Flight

Roaming the Wild 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]

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Assassin’s Creed Unity puts players right into the Parisian streets where the bloody events of the Reign of Terror occurred, and gives us the chance to see the gruesome guillotine up close.

But were public executions all there was to the Terror? How did such a notorious period come about? And what lessons can we learn from it today? To answer these questions,

Matt Lewis talks to returning guest Prof. David Andress from the University of Portsmouth, author of The Terror: Civil War in the French Revolution.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Chandeliers and Carnage by Sarah Schachner

A Seditious Act by Sarah Schachner

Off With Their Heads by Christ Tilton

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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 Unity allows us to confront one of the most controversial men in history: Maximillien Robespierre. What made him such a successful leader, yet so despised by his followers?

To get a better understanding of the man behind so much death, Matt Lewis speaks to Dr Ruth Scurr from the University of Cambridge, author of Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolutionaries.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

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 Christ Tilton

Binding Loyalties by Sarah Schachner

Versailles for Sore Eyes by Christ Tilton

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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.

Notre Dame is arguably the world’s most famous cathedral and has watched over the Parisian skyline since its construction in the Middle Ages. But we are lucky that it remains standing at all.

Dr Emma Wells joins Matt Lewis to reveal how Notre Dame acquired this symbolic status. How was it built? And how did the French Revolution nearly destroy it?

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Tim Arstall

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Joseph Knight

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Unity by Chris Tilton, Jesper Kyd

Chandeliers & Carnage by Sarah Schachner

Chase by Chase Basis by Chris Tilton

A Leap of Faith by Chris Tilton, Jesper Kyd

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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 Revelations lets us meet a young Suleiman before he became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and long before he became “the Magnificent”. 

Matt Lewis is joined by Prof. Giancarlo Cassale to explain how Suleiman earned his epithet, and how the game’s presentation of him compares to reality.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Tim Arstall

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

The Road to Masayaf by Lorne Balfe

Master & Mentor by Lorne Balfe

Sofia Sartor by Lorne Balfe

Son of Umar by Lorne Balfe

Nova Roma by Jesper Kyd

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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.

Associate Professor Nilay Özlü from Istanbul Technical University joins Matt Lewis to help him understand the Ottoman's most significant mark on the landscape of Istanbul, that players can freely explore in Assassin's Creed Revelations: Topkapi Palace.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

The Hidden City by Lorne Balfe

Byzantium by Jesper Kyd

A Familiar Face by Lorne Balfe

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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 Hagia Sophia is a landmark that has stood for 1500 years, and that players can clamber all over in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. It is remarkable not only for its longevity, but also for its blending of multiple cultures: their art, architecture, languages and faiths.

To unpack this complex history, Matt Lewis is joined by Emily Neumeier, Assistant Professor of of Islamic art and architecture at Temple University.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Alex Jones

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Altair and Darim by Lorne Balfe

Constantinopolis by Lorne Balfe

Welcome to Kostantiniyye by Jesper Kyd

Arrocco by Lorne Balfe

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can 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 Revelations transports us to Constantinople, only a couple of generations after its conquest by the Ottoman Empire. It is one of history’s defining events, turning the city into the bridge between Christian West and Islamic East.

Dr Gemma Masson gives Matt Lewis an overview of the events of the conquest and the impact it had on both the face of the city and the lives of the people who called it home.

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Alex Jones

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Welcome to Kostantiniyye by Jesper Kyd

Sailing To Constantinople by Lorne Balfe

Master And Mentor by Lorne Balfe

Byzantium by Jesper Kyd

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

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

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

In the ninth century, the Vikings earned a fearsome reputation along the coasts of western Europe. But they also travelled eastwards and reached Constantinople, the Caspian Sea and even Baghdad, the bustling heart of the mighty Islamic Abbasid Empire. 

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Cat Jarman to explore why Viking raiders traded the frozen hinterlands of Northern Europe for the heat and hubbub of the Near East. 

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

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Joseph Knight, Robin McConnell

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Coordinator: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

Mirage Theme (Menu Version) by Brendan Angelides

Daughter Of No One by Brendan Angelides

If you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

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

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