The Iron Age（Near Eastern early ironworking clay relief）

3,226 years agoIron, Alphabets and Coinage

1200 BCE

The Iron Age

From around 1200 BC, ironworking spread and iron gradually replaced bronze.

Enter the forge

Art style · Near Eastern early ironworking clay relief

World population

102Mpeople

Primary energy power

3×10¹⁰W

London → New York message

—

Data from 1620

Civilization metrics

Each sparkline shows the documented history of a metric on a logarithmic time axis. The dot marks the selected moment.

Kardashev index

0.447

Based on primary energy power · Type I = 1

World population

102Mpeople

1/82 of today

Total human primary energy power

3×10¹⁰W

1/685 of today

Compute per dollar

—

No reliable data yet · data begins 1945

Fastest delivery time for a message from London to New York

—

No reliable data yet · data begins 1620

Fastest speed reached by humans

54km/h

1/734 of today

Near this moment

The eight closest milestones. Select a title to jump there.

2560 BCECulture
Completed around 2560 BC, it remained the tallest human-made structure for more than 3,700 years. Source
1753 BCECulture
A written Babylonian law code carved on a stone stele, around 1753 BC. Source
1200 BCEHumanity
From around 1200 BC, ironworking spread and iron gradually replaced bronze. Source
1050 BCECulture
A handful of letters could record speech sounds; it later gave rise to the Greek, Latin and other alphabets. Source
600 BCECulture
Around 600 BC, electrum coins appeared in Lydia, while China was already casting bronze spade money. Source
300 BCECulture
Euclid derived theorems from axioms, setting the model for deductive reasoning. Source
250 BCEEnergy
Water-driven wheels appear in the writings of the Greek engineer Philo, around the 3rd century BC. Source
150 BCEComputing
A geared device from the 2nd century BC that predicted celestial events; it is the oldest known analog computer. Source

Capabilities

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Scenes across eras

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Iron, Alphabets and Coinage

2 scenes · Select a scene to visit that moment

Ironworking spreads and iron tools and weapons become common; alphabets and coinage appear in turn, and large states expand.

Playable workshops

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15 moments in history to explore by hand.

Diamonds on the timeline mark playable scenes. Select a date to travel there, or enter a workshop directly.

Every timeline entry cites its source. Metrics interpolate logarithmically between sourced data points. Forecasts include institutional and community views, and attributed site scenarios; years are not guaranteed realization dates. Illustrations are AI-generated in each era's style.

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