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

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Assassin's Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory transports players to the medieval Abbasid caliphate. One place in particular that is recreated in the game is the remarkable Jabal Ikmah, the ancient Open-Air Library. Here, on the mountains surrounding AlUla, archaeologists have found a treasure trove of texts that stretch across centuries in multiple languages and from several civilisations. Who made these inscriptions, and why? What do they reveal about the daily lives of the ancient peoples who lived in the oasis?

Matt Lewis is joined by Solaiman al-Theeb, professor at the AlUla Language Institute. His work with ancient languages and inscriptions at Jabal Ikmah makes him the perfect person to reveal more about the writings in the rock.

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 Brendan Angelides

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Valley of Memory recreates life in the AlUla oasis as it was over a millennium ago. Players can climb the battlements of a Muslim fortress, wander through an ancient city carved into the mountainside, and experience the vibrant sights and sounds of a medieval spice market.

In this episode, Creative Director Olivier Leonardi divulges the behind-the-scenes secrets of how the game developers combined history and artistry to transport players to the unique locations and ancient atmosphere of AlUla.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. You can discover more on our YouTube channel here, including exclusive reactions from historians to the games.

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:

Land of the Living by Brendan Angelides

Southern Skies 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.

Assassin’s Creed III recreates many key events from the American Revolution, including the Boston Tea Party, when colonists resisted British taxes by dumping tea into Boston Harbor. But the game challenges the popular perception of the protest as a pure and noble defiance of tyranny. In fact, the legend of the Party started to develop nearly half a century after the event. What were the true motives of the Sons of Liberty? Did they really dress up as Native Americans? Was the Boston Tea Party as impactful as its reputation suggests? And how much tea did they destroy?

Matt Lewis is joined by Prof. James Fichter, author of Tea: Consumption, Politics, and Revolution 1773-1776, to explain the real intentions and outcomes of the Boston Tea Party.

Listen to our previous expert chats about the Declaration Of Independence and the Battles of Lexington & Conchord. Watch this episode here on YouTube.

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

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:

Welcome to Boston by Lorne Balfe

Philadelphia by Lorne Balfe

Escape in Style by Lorne Balfe

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.

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

Matt Lewis presents the expertise of Prof Michael Griffin, Prof Helen King and Justin Marozzi about Socrates, Hippocrates and Herodotus - all of whom are brought to life in Assassin's Creed Odyssey for players to get a taste of what it might have been like to walk alongside these remarkable people in their daily lives.

Click these links to listen to the full episodes about Socrates and his wife Xanthippe, the world's first historian Herodotus, and the most influential physician of all time Hippocrates.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. You can discover more on our YouTube channel here, including exclusive reactions from historians to the games.

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:

Athens, Birthplace of Democracy by The Flight, Mike Georgiades

Sokrates by The Flight, Mike Georgiades

Conversations by The Flight, Mike Georgiades

Atlantis 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 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 dwellings of civilisations that fell long ago.

Even though the oasis at AlUla has provided sustenance to people living there throughout history, that doesn’t entirely explain why so many civilisations wanted to rule it. Instead, the answer may lie in its position on the trade routes that carried spices and incense from Arabia to the rest of the world. Where did the Incense Route travel to and from? How did it influence life in Al-Ula? And what relevance does the Route have to today's spice trade?

To answer these questions, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Sterenn Le Maguer., whose expertise in Islamic archaeology, trade and pilgrimage routes in Arabia makes her the perfect person to explore the Incense Route.

Watch the episode here on YouTube.

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

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 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.

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 that contain inscriptions, artefacts and echoes of this lost civilisation… Who were the Nabataeans? Where did they come from? And why do they suddenly disappear from the archaeological record at Hegra?

To teach Matt Lewis more about Hegra and the Nabataean civilisation, he's joined by Professor Laïla Nehmé. Her books, Guide To Hegra: Archaeology in the Land of the Nabataeans of Arabia and AlUla: Wonder of Arabia are available online.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. You can discover more on our YouTube channel here, including exclusive reactions from historians to the games.

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 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.

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 keep the peace in your new province, whether in the Celtic wilds of Albion or on the Mediterranean coastlines of Latium.

In this special episode recorded live at Gamescom 2025, Matt Lewis and Dr Holly Nielsen ask the senior game writer, Matt Cook, about which historical people and events inspired the game's story, how they addressed ancient attitudes to slavery, religion and warfare, and what real historical facts the developers' couldn't include for being too incredible. How does history get adapted into a video game?

Click this link to watch this episode on YouTube.

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

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 by Dynamedion

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.

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 player. Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Anne Chen, Associate Professor of Art History and Culture at Bard College, to explore what archaeology can tell us about daily life in the Roman Empire.

Follow this link to learn more about Dr Chen's work at the the International [Digital] Dura-Europos Archive - or IDEA - Project.

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. You can discover more on our YouTube channel here, including exclusive reactions from historians to the games.

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 by Dynamedion

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.

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 half of his life, working at the Royal Mint in London. This responsibility included chasing down counterfeiters. One man in particular would became his nemesis - the Professor Moriarty to Newton's Sherlock Holmes.

To shed light on this fascinating time in Newton's life, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Patricia Fara, Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and author of Life After Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career.

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 half of his life, working at the Royal Mint in London. This responsibility included chasing down counterfeiters, and one man in particular who would became his nemesis - the Professor Moriarty to Newton's Sherlock Holmes.

To shed light on this fascinating time in Newton's life, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Patricia Fara, Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and author of Life After Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career.

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:

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.