Let's Visit Baghdad's House of Wisdom - History Tour in Assassin’s Creed Mirage

[@InvictaHistory]

This format is one of my favorites and its honestly a dream to be able to run around exploring historical environments like this. The level of detail is insane and deeply appeciated for the immersion and potential to share history! (If you buy the game, please use our link as it helps the channel ubi.li/KQcL)

[@patrickallen4374]

We agree... but we don't need YOU to explain it to us. We aren't stupid lol. Thank you for all your work tho. You are great.... but giving too much talk

[@CatastrophicDisease]

This historical fidelity and care is the real value of Assassin’s Creed games (except for Valhalla, they threw history out of the window in that one). I remember when the Smithsonian literally used AC3 footage to show life during the Revolutionary period.

[@Sandouras]

Or the last Ezio one, where those evil Byzantines wanted to destroy the good Turks. Let’s not mention who is the conqueror and who the conquered, am I right?

[@DeusGladiorum]

Yeah too bad the games themselves are utter garbage, but the settings are truly amazing

[@Sandouras]

@@TummamuBut that felt really deliberate. As if turkey sponsored the game to present history in a completely different way. It felt too deliberate. Imagine an AC game where the evil Templar Indians are plotting the fall of the benevolent English empire.

[@arftejano2284]

@@Sandouras Probably this. That or given how history actually developed, they had to have an ending that coincided with our timeline, but they also didn’t want the player to lose. They could have done that without making the Turks look like benevolent caring overlords who were unjustly attacked. Real Israel stuff lmao

[@nvmtt]

@@Sandouras slave empires rarely get the benefit of doubt. the ottomans ended the same way. nobody wept for them. nobody but themselves that is.

[@pressrepeat2000]

The virtual tourism aspect of Ubisoft games is insanely great. All the environments are made with so much love and detail.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

The Islamic golden age is such an unexplored piece of history in media!

[@the4thindustrialrevolution225]

Persian golden age*

[@signoguns8501]

A western-made history of the Islamic golden age. That would a laugh. It wold end up like Netflix's Cleopatra 2.0 or something, offending an entire nation... We'd make Muhammed an Ethiopian woman or something.

[@celestialsatheist1535]

It's more of a Arabian golden age

[@signoguns8501]

@@celestialsatheist1535 True. The golden age ended with the rise of islam, didnt it?

[@celestialsatheist1535]

@@signoguns8501 um no . The golden age of Arabia happened centuries after the rise of Islam. It was the rise of fundamentalist Islam that caused the collapse of the golden age

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Ubisoft could make a killing out of virtual tourism of old times.

[@sr969]

This+apple vision. I wont mind being a shut in for 1-2 weeks.

[@yuribrito1504]

That's why I like AC! Assassin's Creed isn't a silly, fictional game! It is, first and foremost, an educational game! In terms of historical education, there is no game that beats AC. What I like most about AC, as incredible as it may seem, is not even the plot itself, but its historical settings. AC is not just a game! It's also history, culture, and education. As a connoisseur of Middle Eastern history, including Mesopotamian and Persian history, I'm totally excited to play AC Mirage. During the historical period in which the game takes place, Baghdad was not only the imposing capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, but it was also the civilizational epicenter of the entire Islamic world! After the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809), who was the main driving force behind the construction of the "Bayt al-Hikma" (the "House of Wisdom"), Baghdad became one of the largest cities of the world, rivaling in importance with Constantinople itself, which was then considered the "City of cities" (Η ΠΌΛΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΌΛΕΩΝ). After Harun al-Rashid's reign, Baghdad soon eclipsed and overshadowed the ancient Umayyad capital: Damascus! Due to its historical and cultural importance, the city was even called the "City of Peace" (Madīnat as-Salām). In my historical analysis, an AC game set in Iraq 🇮🇶 is extremely interesting. Due to its strategic importance and fertile area, Mesopotamia (Iraq) has always been home to great imperial capitals (as the video superbly highlighted), such as Nineveh (Ninua), the capital of the Assyrian Empire; Babylon (Bābil), which was once one of the largest cities of the world; Ur (Urim), which was one of the greatest Sumerian centers; Ctesiphon (Tēsiphon), the Sasanian (Persian) capital; and, lastly, Baghdad itself, which had been founded by Caliph Al-Mansūr as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Since Damascus became closely associated with the previous dynasty, the Umayyads, Al-Mansur decided to build a new capital from scratch, i.e., a capital where he and his descendants would live. Due to its two rivers, the Euphrates (al-Furat) and the Tigris (Dijlah), Mesopotamia/Iraq had been the epicenter of several civilizations and imperial capitals. Virtually all of Mesopotamia's ancient capitals, be it Nineveh, Babylon, Ctesiphon, or even Baghdad itself, were located on the banks of either the Tigris or Euphrates. Iraq, therefore, is an amazing place for an AC to take place, as it offers us the opportunity to explore these hydraulic societies. Although the main plot takes place in Baghdad, Ubisoft may release some DLCs that portray other Mesopotamian cities. The Baghdad that the game portrays, I think it's important to point this out, is COMPLETELY different from modern-day Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The Baghdad that the game portrayed, which was the imposing capital of the Abbasid dynasty, had been completely destroyed by the Mongols in 1258. After the Mongol destruction, no stone was left unturned from ancient Baghdad! Not even the imposing House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma), which was the educational epicenter of Baghdad par excellence, had been spared. Ubisoft, therefore, had to reconstruct not today's Baghdad, but the Abbasid Baghdad of the 9th century, when the city was the quintessential civilizational epicenter of the Golden Age of Islam!

[@thekingofra5063]

Well, you know your stuff, very interesting read. I am currently playing Starfield but have loved the AC games from the very first one, I was going to wait for me to 'finish' Starfield but I'm getting more and more tempted to buy this. I'm glad Ubisoft have gone back to their roots as Valhalla wasn't particularly true to the historical front as some of their other games. I am quite well versed in history but sadly lacking when it comes to Baghdad etc. I would like to hear more of your knowledge, you seem interesting and are certainly engaging.

[@apictureoffunction]

What do you mean by hydraulic societies? I've never seen the word hydraulic used in that way before.

[@ITO_junji_Fan-zi9ss]

AI written lol 😂

[@JonathanLatchman]

@@apictureoffunction just google what it means lil bro you’ll learn something new every day

[@lerneanlion]

Baghdad must be such a magnificent place to live during the time when the Abbasid Caliphs were in full control of their country.

[@stormysoup1083]

The depiction of it in the game is frequently breathtaking, I got chills when I first stumbled across the house of wisdom

[@DM5550Z]

Only for citizens of the caliphate. The abbasids were brutal

[@ahmadfrhan5265]

@@DM5550Zhow? Is America good and the west ? Answer me

[@indyman_123]

Talk about the ambience, the vibes, the culture, the people, the aesthetics, and the game itself... truly well done by Ubisoft on all fronts. A history tour to go along with is just the cherry on top of the cake. Great video!

[@JaelaOrdo]

Only played about 4 hours of the game so far but I love how they portrayed Baghdad and Islam as a whole in the game from what I’ve seen. Good to see Assassin’s creed focusing a bit more on real history as opposed to the mythological stuff the last few games preferred.

[@founderkahtherion9324]

so glad thes tours are back! i loved all of the other ones. hope to see more

[@founderkahtherion9324]

also idk if anyone else agrees but i like the videos where u just talk while walking. instead of interviewing someone.

[@فيصلآلحميم]

Everyone should know that the reason for the emergence of the Golden Age is because of the war between the Abbasids and the Umayyads, where the last person from the Umayyad dynasty fled to Andalusia and established a state there. They wanted their fighting to continue, but the distance between them was far away, so they challenged each other about the king who builds the best state Civilized, the golden age began with two kings challenging each other, the Umayyad Caliph in Andalusia vs the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad.

[@manfredschultz9619]

Excellence emerges often from competition it seems

[@Erispedia]

@@manfredschultz9619competition is good. But I dislike being part of it 😅.

[@manfredschultz9619]

@Erispedia and that's how Monopolies and Oligopolies are born

[@RobertStalbans]

Not really. Golden age emerged from 2 things stability and tolerance.

[@tranium67]

A little correction, baghdad isnt located in a desert. People always assume that it is, but its actually not. It is very dry, but its land is fertile.

[@pendantblade6361]

Dear Invicta team, Could you do a video on the history of bookmaking? One of the neat things I learned that Baghdad was advanced enough to have a novel industry, which is insane in an age before printing.

[@bentotron3654]

I love this game and its setting. I’ve been waiting for one set in the Islamic golden age for years, they have already covered other favourite periods of mine with the renaissance and late Ptolemaic Egypt, so this is a dream.

[@awesomehpt8938]

You can blame the Mongols for destroying the House of Wisdom and pretty much the rest of the city

[@JamjamDanoso]

Blame the caliph instead

[@justs553]

@@JamjamDanoso true the caliph was weak and the caliphate at the time were shell of its former self

[@JaelaOrdo]

First thing I thought when I saw the walls of the city in game was “damn mongorians gonna tear down the city wall”

[@happyChappy96621]

I mean I’m sure the caliph would’ve done the same to the mongols given the chance.

[@AloisWeimar]

nah blame the Mongols

[@7adiyo]

Invicta, this was an awesome virtual tour with great information about the ancient capitals linking Babylon to Baghdad!

[@bine35]

Hey just a tip you can disable in the menu all the interface HUD elements and it would look even cleaner

[@aikidoshi007]

I having a great time with this game. The city is vast and I'm finding it really easy to get myself in all sorts of trouble 🙂

[@seekingknowledge6439]

Bro!!! I always lose track of time when I was your videos, awesome content my dude 🤌

[@crazy_johnsen8028]

Love Assassin's Creed games and love your videos too. Thanks to your dad, his told me about your channel.

[@reopreop4690]

I love these types of videos. As well as your voice........ I actually kinda missed it 😂 Maybe a series on the great cities of the ancient world..... In every continent... So that people see and appreciate something other than battles and bloodshed......

[@-_Nuke_-]

Assasin's Creed games, are a trully succesfull franchise, that throught the years have managed to do the impossible. I am sure that I will enjoy this game

[@nedargiordano7018]

This was one my favorite assisins creed game

[@almuhalab90]

The Umayyad had their commercial tie with the lavante and caliph Muawiyah ibn abi sufyan was ruler of Syria prior to his reign for about 20 years

[@Cydonius1701]

Yeah, I totally agree, spending hours just exploring such a beautiful and well-built world is a pleasure in itself. The amount of work that goes into making something this gorgeous is staggering! Thank you for sharing your take on it all, and some history of the absolute cradle of so much of European and Western Asian civilization. Plus I really don't want to sound creepy, but it's so nice to hear it all from a guy with such a beautiful voice, too 😊

[@starcapture3040]

Baghdad wasn't desert City this is huge mistake. Baghdad was built purposely in mid of maze of streams. the rivers don't go straight they have different Mini branches. for that reason the city was a big farm where its Hot yet Green and certainly no fog. the city was famous for its gardens and streets that were wide for carts. The Abbasid first capital was Kuffa not Baghdad. reason for building Baghdad is to build new bureaucracy that can break the old established ones, not to build new page in history since they viewed history so different from our modern view. women of Baghdad weren't vailed but were hats with their Braids out. solders wore black not red while the people wore cloths full of flamboyant colors. this model is more built on the city of Yazd in Iran rather than Baghdad.

[@Noctuam734]

I mean, the round city is literally full of gardens, flowers and wide streets in this game, there's even a giant zoo. It's the outer part that has the industrial district and market district which are less developed. This game never claimed that Baghdad was the first and only capital of the Abbasids, but in this time it was for more than 100 years. Yes, the descriptions of the city paints a very luxurious place, but what about the unspoken parts of the city? There were no poor people? No industry? Just rich merchants and scholars? It certainly wasn't Iram of The Pillars. Someone had to bleed and sweat to build all of this... so where did they live?

[@علي-ي1ر8ج]

فعلاً استغربت لما رإيت البيئة الصحراوية المحيطة ببغداد في اللهبة في حين ابسط كشف ميداني ابو بحث علمي سيجد بغداد مدينة خضراء وهي تاج سواد العراق ام البساتين كما تسمى

[@game_boyd1644]

Assassin's creed has a tradition of having villains always wear red. It's for gameplay design as much as historical accuracy.

[@whendarknessfalls6969]

Uruk yes, Baghdad was all down hill

[@reteguy7338]

@@Noctuam734 what he probably meant was that the greenery wasn't just inside the city wall, but also OUTSIDE of the very edge of the city most outter wall, and quite large, long, far away in sizes. And that was very important for agricultures.

[@harryclaire5213]

This is a great channel! Loved the opening specifically the forming of the cities

[@oiaeyu]

YAY please make this an entire series and do the entire city 😍

[@derrickstorm6976]

I don't think there's going to be enough interesting content, and people won't be that interested anyway

[@explorationgmer1336]

I'm gonna do that :)

[@Lodestar.]

Amazing video, and I love the game

[@silveryuno]

OH MY ALLAH!!! IT'S SOOOOO BEAUTIFULL!!!

[@PAXperMortem]

I'd totally be down for more AC Mirage content!!

[@SB-qm5wg]

Perfect & relevant sponsorship ⭐

[@samf.s.7731]

🎉yay the astrolabe is there! I was wondering if it was going to be there, and it was 😮

[@Sturmtee]

this is very cool! thanks a lot!

[@ytj17thjuggalo12]

Thank you for giving me some good content to watch while I smoke some weed bro. Love ya! Edit: Actually, this is some GREAT content.

[@joshpeck9266]

Wow that was amazing. Wish my gaming laptop wasn’t being repaired now haha + exam, no time 😂

[@4TheWinQuinn]

A sad day indeed when Baghdad was destroyed, second only to the library of Alexandria. Through these games and videos we will remember them 👍

[@asmrnaturecat984]

The library in alexandria didn't suddenly destroy like baghdad, its gradual decaying of papyrus lack of fund to maintain and lack of interests Baghdad was burnt overnight

[@founderkahtherion9324]

YEEES the burning the library of alexandia has to be a warcrime against humanity. if i had a wish from a Genie or could time trival i would do everything to save it from burning

[@vitorpereira9515]

And when Qin Shi Huang buried scholars alive and burned countless manuscripts that contradicted his legalist vision of governing? That was preety sad too.

[@CatastrophicDisease]

The destruction of Baghdad was far more tragic and consequential than Alexandria.

[@RobertStalbans]

​@@asmrnaturecat984not really. It was destroyed by christians especially byzantines

[@explorationgmer1336]

Hope we get a discovery tour.

[@brokenbridge6316]

I have this game now. And it's an excellent game.

[@lifigrugru6396]

I can imagine the game for functions needed a central place for wisdome. or the bounded game pathes would scatter under more buildings inclusing NPC's.

[@alexanderb1433]

thats crazy such a mighty city was devastated 300 years later by the mongols.

[@huntermad5668]

The golden age ended for a while. Center of Islamic power moved west.

[@Lonely_Gamer85]

Very impressive👏

[@codyrankin2042]

I literally just started the game 😅

[@paulagebhardt6018]

Ah, I see Chris finally got to play some AC for historical purposes. 😂

[@dot2562]

From what ive heard their games are now probably better for teaching history than playing the game..

[@InvictaHistory]

Sign me up baby that's what I'm here for

[@starcapture3040]

it can be but it also can be misleading, for example Baghdad wasn't a desert city the way it is shown in here. its streets weren't Narrow but wide for carts to come and go. it was famous for having gardens of different types. its women weren't veiled they wore hats.

[@derrickstorm6976]

​@@InvictaHistorysign me out said millions of players though 😂

[@pedrovelasquez6147]

Yes, because the campaign is total crap, it's full of modern politics and it feels like you're playing in a parallel universe, rather than a historical setting.

[@TheLion377]

It's also a good way to teach subverted history to influencable youths.

[@deuteroniusz9222]

Great reconstruction, indeed!

[@d_daeani7998]

yeeeeessss another amazing content filled video which makes for a good day

[@fachriyulfiansyah1927]

can you read book and get skill from reading like in mount and blade?

[@monegal1]

For better or worse this game feels like Revelations 2

[@qus.9617]

I don't think the streets of Baghdad look that nice actually... compared to Istanbul, Firenze , Roma or Venezia. It is not that I am partial to these cities but they just aesthetically look nicer.

[@Mo_2077]

Love your vids bro

[@linguaLatinae]

10:11 The Slaves got castrated. So no one down the line could start to make a living. They couldn’t have children. That’s also why the Arab slave trade lasted so long. The slaves didn’t have children, so when a slave died a new slave had to be bought. And 3/4 of those men died from the castration so a lot of people had to be captured to get new slaves for the market.

[@reinerbraun9995]

Is it better to take slave children ? I don't think so

[@alioshax7797]

While castration was common practice at the time, the vast majority of slaves were not eunuchs. Because of the cost of the operation (castrating a man without him dying is actually quite a challenge) eunuchs were often elite slaves, used as harem guards or high administrators. Of course, the Eastern slave system evolved a lot in 1300 years, but overhaul, that's the idea. A slave was expansive, and castration was risky, so castrating millions of slaves would have been a tremendous waste of money and workforce. Many civilisation practiced castration (the romans, the greeks, the chinese, and so on) but nowhere did it ever represent the majority of the slave population. Many governors who became de facto independant in the IXth and Xth century were slaves soldiers or descendant of slaves. It's the case, for instance, of two famous governors (or princes) of Egypt, Ahmad ibn Tulun and Muhammad al-Ikhchid.

[@wallycola5653]

Engagement for the engagement god

[@MrZ099]

What song is used in the minute 13:00 ?

[@dansmith4077]

Interesting thank you invicta

[@bloodhunter07]

As an Arab seeing this filled my heart with joy 😊 but gave me great sadness 😢

[@johnmaulana7027]

Yup everytime I heard House of Wisdom the only thing I remember is the Mongol is Coming

[@bloodhunter07]

@@johnmaulana7027 it also pains that the Arabian style of building is pretty much gone thanks to European colonization

[@stefthorman8548]

@@bloodhunter07 lmao, did you forget islamic terriost destroying the buildings an relics?

[@bloodhunter07]

@@stefthorman8548 if you believe that then your are a fool

[@artair70]

@@johnmaulana7027Based Mongols

[@jeanmahmoud1035]

the first to move whole cities where probably the akkadians or even the sumerians bro they do that since the first cities, seleucos only followed the trend, showing the whole pop that he was indeed the new Sargon.

[@CleopaOrthodox]

Can you please do other great sites in AC games like the Duomo etc.

[@Gandalfthewhat]

The only thing that interests me in most ac games is the historical maps

[@nickmcgookin247]

Yes lets

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Nice

[@FrancescDestefani-gs4wm]

la sfera armillare, santucci sphere ... conosco conosco, frequento ... che si fa di bello a casa degli dei? secondo me gli dei vanno cambiati.

[@golgumbazguide...4113]

Explore Golgumbaz

[@12gmkk29]

We want a video about the relationship between Baghdad and the Byzantine, and what did the people of Baghdad thought about ancient Rome and Greece

[@TheLion377]

The way you described "the followers of Muhammad (PBUH)" and the Umayyads as just taking everything over and "setting up an Arab ruling class like the Romans" really lets us know how much Historical information you have and where you learned it from. You should really check out Roy Casagranda's stuff. He has quite a few lectures on the History of that era and beyond from the perspective of non-Orientalist (read racist) authors.

[@zaidkapadia6824]

This guy is a crossdog, you can't expect good about Islam to come out of the mouths of crossdogs

[@artair70]

@@zaidkapadia6824cry more

[@derrickstorm6976]

Man getting this game for free must not have really been worth it 😂

[@whendarknessfalls6969]

Uruk is beautiful

[@khartog01]

When I deployed to Iraq, all I wanted to do was go to Baghdad. But it never happened.

[@artair70]

I’d still have took Iraq over Afghanistan, at least Iraqi’s had an IQ above 70. Sadly only ever got Afghan.

[@MakarovSergey39]

Can we meet Imam Abu Hanifah in this game? I mean just like we can meet Socrates in AC Odyssey

[@pyeitme508]

Wow

[@juliopaveif]

We need an assassins creed in ancient Rome

[@CleopaOrthodox]

Invicta, please do a video on the Library of Alexandria (even if there is no game footage).

[@whendarknessfalls6969]

AC Origins?

[@GeoffryGifari]

sponsored by assasins' creed? no way man

[@wariscoming.]

I like burning all this down in chivalry 2, good times

[@apotato1717]

Now do "Dome of the Ass"

[@Alexander1005]

❤

[@-RONNIE]

⚔️

[@mrengtop]

This is not good visualisation to Baghdad... you visualise it as dry land surrounded by desert and this is not right... the desert is west of Iraq and it is too far from baghdad... it is actually green area surronded by huge number of massive farms because Tigris river passing in the middle of Baghdad and Euphrates river on the west of the city about 20km away from it... so how it contains desert..!!!!!!

[@omarmix6075]

Your introduction made me shudder

[@shaifunnessa7816]

Maratha empire history please make video

[@zaidkapadia6824]

The entirety of Indian history was never memorable or iconic enough for any video to be made on it. The only thing iconic about Indian history was how the Mughal and Brits took over it 😂😂

[@manfredschultz9619]

So, when will the Mongol Refugee and Tourism Crisis Expansion coming..?

[@erickcredidiooliveira201]

Then the Mongol armies appeared and burn everything to the ground.

[@Al-Zutti]

Mongols pushed the Oghuz Turks west-ward, and they eventually conquered Constantinople, so all is well that ends well.

[@erickcredidiooliveira201]

@@Al-Zutti Bagda was burn to the ground wasn't ? That is what I am talking about.

[@Al-Zutti]

@@erickcredidiooliveira201 It's still around, so it clearly wasn't beyond repair. Either way, all is well that ends well. Berke Khan in the Russian lands, Aurangzeb in the Indian lands, and Mehmed Fatih in the Balkan lands.

[@Mo_2077]

W

[@Halo_Legend]

If this game ever costs 0$, I would be tempted to buy it.

[@Sandouras]

I can’t stand all the sand and dust, even if it’s realistic. Is it just me?

[@qus.9617]

Yep just left a comment saying just that. I love assassin creeds games. I love their love of history. It was pure bliss wandering the streets of Istanbul, Firenze and Venezia. But I just don't dig this city. There is an overwhelming amount of yellow both on the roads and the buildings. I just don't like it as much.

[@game_boyd1644]

it was probably more green and lush in reality. Also, Anakin....is that you?

[@siavoshfirelord]

6:55 The city of Baghdad already existed and was built by Acheamanids. Even the nam "Baghdad" is persian.

[@siavoshfirelord]

I hope you mentioned the massive role of Iranians in the "Islamic Golden Age".

[@kyleanuar9090]

No automatons, flying carpets in the thousands and so many wonders of the eyes by machines and performers, instead they showed a city less than a Roman town.

[@WhatAboutYou123]

who cares ?

[@MohammedTanvir-er7me]

Mad because Islam is getting prasied? Huh, keep being mad.

[@nocensorship8092]

Why do you talk so fast, you are almost stumbling over your words. It's stressing

[@patrickallen4374]

Nobody cares about the history. We come here for gaming bro. I'll love. You do great work.... but you do t need someone ellaning stuff I already knew about a past civilization 😊

[@ShoaibZehri-p9x]

The golden age of Islam 🕌☪️❤

[@furuleetsaingo]

They were also thinking of using Unity for rebuilding Notre Dame