As anyone that has completed the series (or is awaiting Attack on Titan’s final season) will attest, there’s a lot more to Eren’s world than meets the eye at first glance. If you’re a completionist like me, you’ll want to see where all the story’s key events stack up, providing a bird’s-eye view of Isayama’s wonderful narrative. Note: Beware of spoilers for Attack on Titan’s anime and manga!
How Many Years Pass in Attack on Titan?
In terms of the ‘present-day’ events in Attack on Titan, the story happens incredibly quickly. However, given the amount of history attached by the end, you could say it’s a story that takes place over many millennia. If you want to include every world event that influences Attack on Titan’s story, the series takes place over nearly 2000 years, starting with the first titan Ymir. However, counting the amount of time between Attack on Titan’s first and last seasons, only nine years pass. In this sense, Attack on Titan’s first chapter/episode really is the beginning of the end.
Attack on Titan’s Timeline
There are so many events that take place in Attack on Titan and much of it is dated as you would expect to see in historical texts. Below, we’ve collated all the events that are crucial to the story to provide a picture of how the story unfolds. To further simplify Attack on Titan’s timeline, you could divide it into four broad sections: Attack on Titan’s universe uses a calendar system similar to that seen in most of the modern world. B1, like BC, indicates events happening a certain amount of time before the traditional calendar begins. The symbol ‘C.’ (circa) indicates an approximation of the year as the actual time isn’t known.
1003 B1 – Ymir becomes the Founding Titan.990 B1 – Ymir dies. Her body is cannibalised, creating the Nine Titans and spreading her abilities through the Eldian race.C. 743 – The Great Titan War takes place. Karl Fritz flees to Paradis Island to create a final refuge for Eldians with the power of the Founding Titan. Many of the other Titan holders engage in a civil war before Marleyans take control of their power and the continent.819 – Eren Kruger inherits the Attack Titan and becomes the leader of an underground Eldian movement called the Restorationists.824 – Grisha Jaeger (Eren’s father) joins the Restorationists.825 – Grisha and Dina Fritz’s son, Zeke Jaeger, is born.C. 830 – Grisha convinces Zeke to join Marley’s Warrior programme in an attempt to inherit one of the Titans for the Restorationists.832 – Zeke, under guidance from Marleyans, sells out his parents and the Restorationists. Grisha survives by inheriting the Attack Titan from Eren Kruger and travels to the Eldian walls on Paradis Island.C. 832 – Grisha ends up in Shiganshina District, where he establishes himself as a doctor and marries Carla Jaeger.835 – Many of the main characters are born, including Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean and Historia Reiss.842-843 – Titans change hands in Marley. Zeke inherits the Beast Titan, while Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt inherit their titans.845 – Wall Maria falls as part of Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt’s plan. Grisha kills the royal Reiss family, motivated by an older Eren travelling back in time before passing his abilities to the younger Eren who also had his memories erased. Historia is given the new name Christa Lenz to hide her royal bloodline.850 – The events of Attack on Titan Seasons 1-3 take place. Eren discovers his abilities, the Titans working for Marley are uncovered and Christa takes her place on the throne.850-854 – Marley is at war with the Mid-East Allied Forces as seen at the start of Attack on Titan’s Final Season.851-853 – Eren and the remaining scouts reach the sea, then go undercover in Marley. Eren stays behind while the others return to Paradis, building up the island’s fighting strength.854 – The remaining events of Attack on Titan’s Final Season take place, commencing with the Raid on Liberio by the scouts.
While we don’t know it at first, the war between Eldia and Marley that dominates the Final season has already begun! Knowing this makes re-watching Attack on Titan a fun experience that we would definitely recommend!
