The Iron Age is the period that followed the Bronze Age and was characterized by the use of iron. The name refers to the frequent use of iron in the making of metal objects. Iron has several advantages over bronze. Bronze is harder, so better suited for weapons and tools, but the raw material for iron is in many more places. The concept has been mostly applied to Europe and the Ancient Near East, and by analogy, also to other parts of the Old World (= Africa, Asia and Europe).

As with most of the time periods, the duration varies depending on the region under consideration. An Iron Age begins locally, when the productiion of iron or steel has been brought to the point where iron tools and weapons superior their bronze equivalents become widespread. This transition takes place in the Ancient Near east in the wake of the so-called Bronze Age collapse, 12th century BC. Throughout the Mediterranean Basin region to South Asia, the technology spread. It spread further to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Central Europe is delayed, with Northern Europe wasn't reached until about 500 BC.

The end of the Iron Age is not taken by a clear break in the archaeological record. For the Ancient Near East, the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire (= the First Persian Empire) ± 550 BC. In Central and Western Europe, the Roman conquests of the 1st century BC marks the end of the Iron Age. The Germanic Iron Age of Scandinavia ends about 800 AD, with the start of the Viking Age.

Iron was a little used metal for a long time, because it occurs as a free metal in solid form, unlike copper. Originally, therefore, only meteoritic iron was known, a rarity. It took a longtime to learn how to release the metal form from its ore. The advantages meant that iron was preferably used for all kinds of weapons and tools. Bronze, however, remained important for jewelery and ornamental objects, like bracelets and horse harness.