When were bombs first invented?

The first bombs were invented in China in the 13th century. The Chinese first began using gunpowder in hand-held grenades and developed smoke bombs. One of these bombs, the thunderbolt-ball, had gunpowder on the outside that exploded a bamboo core filled with iron scraps.

Gunpowder was first used by Chinese people searching for immortality. During the Song dynasty, military leaders began to use gunpowder to perform military strikes from a distance. The military used gunpowder bombs in multiple ways, including as land mines, as bombs filled with poison in tunnels, and as aerial bombs that could be thrown or hurled toward targets 10 to 100 yards away.