In the new game Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Emperor has appointed you as governor, tasked with developing new provinces in the Empire. The game is set in a big year for Rome: it marked the moment the Roman Empire expanded the furthest in all its history, and saw the death of Trajan, who is counted amongst the Five Good Emperors.

But why was Trajan so popular? You’ve probably heard of Trajan’s Column, which celebrates his military might. But there are many building projects bearing his name all across Europe and the Middle East. Was Trajan just a construction addict, or did his provincial projects serve a practical purpose?

Prof. Maggie Popkin joins Matt Lewis to examine the blueprints of Trajan's grand schemes.

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 Dynamedion

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Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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In the new game Anno 117: Pax Romana, the Emperor has appointed you as governor, tasked with developing provinces in the Roman-based Latium region and Celtic-inspired Albion. The game is set in a big year for Rome: it marked the moment the Roman Empire expanded the furthest in all its history, and saw the death of Trajan, who is counted amongst the Five Good Emperors.

As the video game’s title indicates, this era was known as the “Pax Romana”: the “Roman Peace”. But what does that mean? Was this really a peaceful period in history? Or have we misunderstood its meaning for centuries? Dr Hannah Cornwell helps Matt Lewis with this classic puzzle.

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 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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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

For nearly two decades, the Assassin’s Creed video games have transported players to worlds of the past. From the hot sands of the medieval Middle East to the frozen Arctic of 18th century Canada; the variety of periods, people and places of the past that have been built from scratch, in detail, is immense. But video games are also meant to entertain, and there are gaps in our knowledge of history which must be filled when creating these interactive worlds for players to escape into.

Today, Dr Holly Nielsen speaks to Raphael Lacoste, concept artist and art director on the very first Assassin’s Creed game and many more since, to recount the evolution of the series.

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

Hosted by: Dr Holly Nielsen

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Robin McConnell, Dr Holly Nielsen

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

City of Jerusalem by Jesper Kyd

Meditation Begins by Jesper Kyd

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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The heart of the Assassin’s Creed franchise is the deadly rivalry between the brotherhoods of Assassins and Templars. These were real groups in history, whose power and influence in their lifetimes matched the longevity of their reputations. But how much of what we know of the two organisations is myth, and what is reality?

To help separate fact from fiction, Matt Lewis is joined by Dr Steve Tibble, author of Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood.

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 Jesper Kyd

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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

The first Assassin's Creed game puts players in the thick of the Siege of Acre during the Third Crusade. We can climb its battlements and fight in the shadow of its mighty walls. In this episode, Dr Nicolas Morton returns to help Matt Lewis explore how the confluence of cultures in the Holy Land produced unique features to Crusader Castles, and what methods could be used to overcome their defences, as demonstrated in the truly epic Siege of Acre.

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:

City of Jerusalem by Jesper Kyd

Meditation Begins by Jesper Kyd

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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The very first Assassin's Creed video game takes us back to the Third Crusade, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. As Saladin's Islamic armies tried to reconquer the Holy Land, the Christian rulers of Jerusalem faced as many threats from within as without - perhaps none moreso than Sybilla and Isabella, women who ruled in a men’s world.

Matt Lewis is joined by Katherine Pangonis to help understand how these women rose to power - and held onto it - at such a perilous time.

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:

City of Jerusalem by Jesper Kyd

Flight Through Jerusalem by Jesper Kyd

Meditation Begins by Jesper Kyd

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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Assassin’s Creed Rogue lets players explore the frozen world of the Arctic coastline of North America. Players inhabit the memories of Shay Cormac, an Irish Assassin who switches sides to join the Templars, against the backdrop of the Seven Years’ War, or as its American theatre is known, the French-Indian War.

Dr Holly Nielsen is joined by James Nadiger, scriptwriter on Assassin’s Creed Rogue, to shed light on the dramatic shifts behind this unusual entry in the series.

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

Hosted by: Dr Holly Nielsen

Edited by: Robin McConnell

Produced by: Robin McConnell, Dr Holly Nielsen

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

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

Music:

The Streets by Elitsa Alexandrova

I Am Shay Cormac by Elitsa Alexandrova

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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Assassin's Creed Rogue and Assassin's Creed III let us sail through the frozen waters of the Northwest Passage at the most dangerous time in history.

From Hudson Bay to Hawaii, the coasts of Canada and the USA were mapped as an unintended consequence of history’s greatest explorers trying to find a navigable path from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Just what was it that made this route so hard to find? And how did explorers overcome the fatal challenges it posed? Historian and adventurer Ken McGoogan helps Dan Snow discover the answers.

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

Hosted by: Dan Snow

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 Elitsa Alexandrova

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 echoes-of-history@historyhit.com

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