history

The industrial revolution was centered geographically around rich coal deposits (in cities like Manchester for instance) because fuel was required in large quantities to keep the circuit of capital churning. These practically limitless (in the short term, and in terms of 19th century energy consumption) supplies of fuel were the catalyst which set the circuit of capital free. These colossal deposits of fuel required many developments in mining technology, geology, and lots of surveying and exploration to unlock, which couldn't be relied on in ancient times.

But fuel itself is not hard to come by, unless you require it in such vast industrial quantities. Trees are fuel. An average campfire can range in temperatures from 315C (600F) to 600C (1200F). If you apply a bellows, you can reach even hotter temperatures without the need for any refined fuels. From wood you can also produce charcoal, which burns at 1,100C (2000F), which is very close (but not quite) the melting point of iron. Hotter-burning fuels, or the use of a blast furnace would be required to take things further (Blast furnaces did exist in China around 100AD).

So I suppose you are right that this technology would do very little to completely transform social relations the way it did during the Industrial Revolution, but mostly everything you need to flex on your ancestors is there.