I'm not sure if we're taking about different time periods, but weren't they at the forefront of chariot warfare during the bronze age? And I vaguely recall tha

I'm not sure if we're taking about different time periods, but weren't they at the forefront of chariot warfare during the bronze age? And I vaguely recall that inventing bellows to melt iron took a long time too, so steam machinery seems pretty far off if all you have is bronze and stone.