What historical conflict forms the setting for the original Assassin’s Creed?

The Third Crusade forms the historical setting for the original Assassin’s Creed. The game’s main historical story takes place in 1191, when Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad carries out missions across the Holy Land during the conflict between Crusader and Muslim forces.

The principal cities include Masyaf, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. Although the game uses real historical figures and places, its central conflict between Assassins and Templars is fictionalized for the series’ narrative. The historical period supplies the political tensions, fortified cities, and travel routes that shape Altaïr’s missions.

This setting differs from later entries: Assassin’s Creed III uses the American Revolution, Unity uses the French Revolution, and Odyssey is set during the Peloponnesian War. The First Crusade occurred earlier, in the late eleventh century, so it is not the correct period for the first game.