Religion Quells Corruption

In Rituals of War we have learned the significance that omens and sacrifices played in the ancient Mesopotamian culture. These beliefs in the oracles put a great amount of power in the hands of the 'expert seers', so much so that one can not help but think of the possibility for corruption within the system. While Bahrani did not talk about the existence of corruption, it seems likely that the ancient Mesopotamian cultures were so dedicated to their theological beliefs that they were kept from pursuing corruption.
In instances such as with substitute kings, where an oracle foretold an evil fate of the king and a scapegoat was put in the true kings place, the oracles could have easily used their power to put in place a leader of their choice as they were the ones who chose the substitute. While this could be possible it seems unlikely because as Bahrani states 'there was certainly a human sacrifice here'(pg 198). Since the ritual almost always ended in human sacrifice in order to fulfill the evil fate that was predicted, it is not likely that these priests would use this ritual to install a new king.
The substitute king was made king by essential giving him a name tag of 'king' or by making him even ingest something containing the name. This method of trying to prove legitmate kingship to the gods is like that of the ancient king who's name translated to 'legitimate king'. It appears naive of them to believe that the gods would fall for such a trick, especially since they believed the gods to be so powerful and all knowing in the first place.
While priests may not have used the substitute king ritual for means of corruption, it would seem that the king and priests used loopholes to try and get their desired answer from a reading. When asking things of the gods they would inscribe what would end up being an entire list of detailed questions in which they would expect a simple answer of 'yes' or 'no', and by doing so they could manipulate the outcome.
This also proved to be because of their 'intense anxiety and unease'(Bahrani 189) about things such as deciding war tactics. This shows that the ancient Mesopotamian cultures were so dedicated to their religious beliefs because they were indecisive and sought answers to their many questions.