A major element of the power of the priesthood in the Mesopotamian cities was the fact that the priests claimed to be able to soothe and assuage the gods, to prevent the gods from sending yet another devastating flood, epidemic, or plague of locusts. It is not too far off to say that the most important duty of Mesopotamian priests was to beg the gods for mercy.

They did not only tax the wealth, the crops, and the goods of the subjects of Uruk, but they also had a right to demand labor, obligating the common people (i.e. almost everyone) to work on the irrigation systems, the temples, and the other major public buildings.