The Hittites left Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, and went to Mesopotamia around 1400 BCE. They were the first people to extract iron from the ore and create iron weapons and tools. However, their empire soon collapsed in 1200 BCE. This led to the cultural diffusion of iron working and the iron age.

Long before the Hittites, the Hyksos immigrated into Egypt's northern, delta region around 1630 BCE. The Hyksos introduced and improved several weapons and war techniques. They were the first people to use the horse and chariot, as well as the compound bow. Better battle axes and fortification techniques were some of the Hyksos's improvements on weaponry and war techniques. A temple and several burial sites were found during excavations around the northern, Egyptian delta, this suggests that they could have believed in an afterlife. The Hyksos empire ended around 1523 BCE.

After the fall of the Hittite empire, the Lydian empire rose. The Lydians were the first people to use gold and silver coined money, as well as establish permanent shops. Croesus, a Lydian leader, was partly responsible for expanding the empire, he is also famous for speaking to the Oracle at Delphi about going to war with Persia. The Lydians attacked the Persians and were defeated, ending the Lydian empire around 546 BCE.