The Third Crusade provides the historical setting for Altaïr's missions in the first Assassin's Creed game.
The game is set primarily in 1191, during the period commonly called the Third Crusade. Its historical cities include Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus, where Altaïr investigates targets connected with the Templars and the wider conflict.
The Third Crusade was fought from 1189 to 1192 after the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. Major European leaders associated with it included Richard I of England, Philip II of France, and Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire. The game uses this period as a backdrop rather than presenting a complete documentary account of the campaign.
The setting is sometimes mixed up with the Crusades featured in later Assassin's Creed stories. Assassin's Creed focuses on the late twelfth century, while other entries move to Renaissance Italy, colonial America, Victorian London, or ancient Egypt.