What ages does the Iron Age include, and into how many periods is it divided?

The Iron Age came to earth in the 12th century BC. It originated for the first time on the territory of Western Asia. The ancient Hittites were the first to master it. Then the technology of processing iron was borrowed by the Assyrians, Philistines and other ancient peoples. In total, the Iron Age can be divided into 3 main periods: the Early Iron Age (12-5 century BC); Middle Iron Age (5th century BC – 2nd century AD); late Iron Age (2-5 century AD).