Schools

For the most part the only education that a young Babylonian might have received would have been of a scribal type. Those who were sent to school to train as a scribe had to be children of wealthy or influential parents. Boys were admitted and possibly girls as well. There is no doubt that rich women often had a lot of freedom and influence.

By the time of Hammurapi (1792-60) the language of Sumerian had been replaced by Akkadian as the commonly spoken language in Babylonia but Sumerian was still used for nearly all religious texts. It was therefore necessary to train students, not only in the script, cuneiform, but in the language as well.

The students' education would begin when he was eight or nine years old. Each day he would get up at sunrise and go to school, which was commonly known as the tablet house. At the tablet house there would be a man like a schoolmaster. His title literally meant "the Expert." There would be a number of other teachers who would each specialize in a different aspects of Sumerian and its writing. To keep order some of the senior students would be appointed as a helper. A student's work would consist of copying tablets using a slab of wet clay. Also he would learn various texts by heart. If he successfully passed an examination the student became a scribe.