The main story of the first Assassin’s Creed is set in 1191. The game takes place during the Third Crusade, with Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad carrying out missions across the Holy Land.
The principal cities include Masyaf, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. Altaïr is ordered to eliminate targets connected to the Templars while navigating the political and military tensions of the period.
The game’s historical setting is fictionalized for gameplay, but it uses real places, leaders, and conflicts as foundations. Richard the Lionheart and Robert de Sablé are among the historical or historically based figures connected to the narrative.
The dates of the First Crusade and Third Crusade are frequent sources of confusion. The First Crusade began in 1096, while the campaign represented in the first Assassin’s Creed occurs in 1191, near the end of the Third Crusade.