Why did iron weaponry appear right after the bronze age collapse? Apologies if this is wrong but didn't Iron weapons appear about a century after the bronze age collapse why non during the Bronze age when warfare was reasonably prelevant and large empires had the resources to study technology why not in the classical period when empires became large again?
My understanding is technology requires large empires to put forth investment to move forward not complete anarchy.
didn't Iron weapons appear about a century after the bronze age collapse why non during the Bronze age
No, iron-working is attested in all of the major Bronze Age states, including Egypt, Ḫatti, Assyria, and the Aegean. There's always more to be said on the topic, but I wrote about this in To what extent did the Hittites make use of iron?