The Sumerians believed that the gods were the rulers of the cities, thereby making the type of government in Mesopotamia a theocracy, which means a government that gets their power from spiritual authority. Each Sumerian city created a city-state that included the city itself and farmland for several miles around. These city-states were very independent from one another and war between them was continual and a reality. The Assyrian government was divided by prosperity and fell in the order of the Pharaoh, governmental officials, soldiers, scribes/scholars, merchants/traders, artists, farmers, and then slaves. Social classes were the pinnacle of separation in the Assyrian culture. The Akkadians however used several kings. They had four kings which ruled over all 63 cities of the Akkadian empire. The "governors" of the city-states were known as "ensi" and were granted the role upon marrying their goddess Inanna, which officiated the rule of the ensi. Finally, the Babylonians employed a government that was simplistic in theory but effective in rule. The Babylonians were a monarchy as well and were led by a king, and the king used harsh punishment to deter crime. There was a lot "an eye for an eye" mentality in the laws of the Babylonian empire (for example, if someone built a house and the house collapsed on the inhabitants and killed them, the builder would be put to death.