Within a few centuries the secret of tempering was discovered and diffused, and iron became the basic weapon material for all the armies of the period. Iron weapons were superior to bronze weapons because they were heated and hammered into shape rather than cast, making them stronger, less brittle and more reliable than their bronze counterparts. By the beginning of the first millennium bce, the secret of iron metallurgy and cold forging had spread to Palestine and Egypt by way of the nomadic invasions, and perhaps to Mesopotamia as well. Iron was first utilized as a technology of war around 1300 bce by the Hittites.
