By Kai Mercer
When you think of Christmas, you probably picture a silent night in the little town of Bethlehem. But if you actually read the ancient texts, the drama didn’t start in a stable—it started ten miles north, in the power center of the ancient world: Jerusalem.
This holiday season, instead of watching Home Alone for the fiftieth time, I decided to do something different. I fired up a digital time machine. I loaded up the original Assassin’s Creed, set in 1191 AD, and took a walking tour of the Holy City. What I found wasn’t just a video game map; it was a ghost of Christmas Past that connects the Three Wise Men, the Crusades, and the very streets Jesus walked.
Buckle up. We’re going back 5,000 years, from the Canaanites to the console, to uncover the “Magi’s Secret” hidden in the polygons of the Holy Land.
The Digital Time Machine: 1191 AD
Most gamers sprint across the rooftops of Jerusalem to stab a Templar and move on. But if you stop and look down, you realize Ubisoft didn’t just build a playground—they rebuilt a specific moment in time: the Third Crusade.
The year is 1191. The city is a powder keg. King Richard the Lionheart is knocking on the doors, and the legendary Sultan Saladin is holding the keys. As you walk through the virtual streets, you aren’t just seeing a generic “sand level.” You are seeing a city that has been conquered, destroyed, and rebuilt more times than any other place on Earth.
The Magi’s Detour: Why Jerusalem Matters at Christmas
Here is the clickbait truth that Sunday School skipped: The Three Wise Men went to Jerusalem before they went to Bethlehem.
According to history and scripture, the Magi saw the Star and rode straight to the capital city to ask King Herod where the new King was born. They expected a palace, not a stable. That meeting in Jerusalem set off the chain of events that defines the darker side of the Christmas story (Herod’s paranoia).
In Assassin’s Creed, when you climb the viewpoints of the King’s Quarter, you are looking down on the very ruins and foundations where that meeting likely took place. The game’s map is a graveyard of empires—Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim architectures stacked on top of each other. You can literally parkour over the history of the Nativity.
The Holy Sepulchre: A Glitch in the Matrix?
The most mind-blowing moment of the tour is standing in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the game (and reality), this church is built over the site where Jesus was crucified and buried.
In 1191 AD, this building was the center of the world’s conflict. The Crusaders had captured it in 1099, massacring the city’s inhabitants in a “holy” rage. By the time of the game, Saladin had retaken the city (1187 AD) but—in a move that shocked the medieval world—he spared the Christians and allowed pilgrims to visit this church.
The game captures this tension perfectly. You see Christian priests and Muslim scholars walking the same streets. It’s a rare moment of peace in a game about war, mirroring the “Peace on Earth” message of Christmas that was so often ignored by the very people fighting for it.
Saladin vs. The Christmas Spirit
We can’t talk about this era without mentioning Saladin. While King Richard (the guy often romanticized in Robin Hood movies) was executing prisoners outside the walls, Saladin was famously sending fresh fruit and ice to his enemies when they were sick.
In the game, Saladin isn’t a villain; he’s a complex leader protecting his home. This adds a layer of nuance that fits the modern understanding of the Crusades. The “villains” in Assassin’s Creed are often the extremists on both sides who profit from war. It’s a surprisingly deep critique of how religion is weaponized—a sober reminder during the holidays to look past the labels and see the humanity, just as the story of the Good Samaritan (another guy from this neighborhood) taught us.
Why You Should “Visit” This Christmas
You might not be able to book a flight to Israel right now, but you can visit the Kingdom of Heaven. The Jerusalem of 1191 AD, preserved in digital amber, offers a perspective on the Holy Land that you won’t get from a Christmas card.
It reminds us that this city has been fought over by Canaanites, Jebusites, Babylonians, Romans, Crusaders, and Saracens. Yet, it remains the center of the story.
So, this Christmas Eve, after the kids go to sleep, maybe boot up the console. Climb the Dome of the Rock. Look south toward Bethlehem. And remember that the history beneath your virtual feet is the real “Gold” of the Magi.
