Babylonians and Sumerians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Babylonians and Sumerians - Essay Example The researcher states that one of the points of commonality between Sumerians and Babylonians is religion. Babylonians and Sumerians were both highly polytheistic. At some points, as neighboring city-states, Babylonians and Sumerians shared the same gods. All these gods were based on the perceptions that people had towards forces of nature. To this extent, both the Sumerians and Babylonians had the god(s) of air, sun, moon, rain and sea. Both civilizations also had towers or ziggurats in the middle of their cities. Sacrifices were offered to the pantheon of gods in Sumeria and Babylon. Nevertheless, in the offering of sacrifice, there is a parting point since the Sumerians offered only crop harvests while the Babylonians sacrificed even their children. Both civilizations were city-states. Again, both civilizations had all-dispensing rulers. In Sumeria, the powerful political ruler, Gilgamesh was also a priest. However, in Babylon, Hammurabi (fl. ca. 1792 – 1750 BC) the ruler w as a king, priest and lawgiver. Both civilizations used the Sumerian language, though the Babylonians limited their use of the Sumerian language to religious purposes. The Babylonians used the Akkadian language for official purposes while the Sumerians had their own language. According to Finkel and Reade, Babylonians is no doubt one of the biggest city-states in Mesopotamia. For one, as touching architecture, Babylonians erected massive buildings and architectural structures such as the Hanging Gardens and the Ishtar Gates. The Babylonians among many other things invested advanced techniques of irrigation along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This helped the Babylonians grow a lot of crops. Gadotti observes that the Sumerians also had their inventions, even in the field of architecture and art. One of the most remarkable works of Sumerian art is the Erech vase in alabaster.