The Iron Age is the period in which iron became the main metal for tools and weapons across much of the Old World. Smelting iron was known earlier, but it spread widely after about 1200 BCE, as the disruption of Bronze Age trade networks made tin and copper harder to obtain while iron ore was common almost everywhere. Iron tools were cheaper and strong enough to clear forest, plough heavier soils and equip larger armies. The age begins at different dates in different regions and is divided into local cultures, such as Hallstatt and La Tene in Europe. It is usually considered to end where written records take over, for example with the Roman conquest in much of western Europe.
Before and after
- from 13th century BCE to 4th century BCEMagadha
- 13th century BCEAncient Celts
- c. 1,201 BCEThe Olmec civilisation emerges at San Lorenzo
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 1,150 BCEBronze Age collapse
- c. 1,200 BCEIron Age
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 450 BCEHallstatt culture
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 800 BCEUrnfield culture
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 150 BCEPhoenician script
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 546 BCELydia
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
- from c. 753 BCE to 476 CEAncient Rome
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
- from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
- from 285 CE to 1453Byzantine Empire
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 12th century BCE.