In addition to his administrative, religious, and military roles, the king also rendered verdicts in disputes. One difficult case, Three Ox-Drivers from Adab, recorded in Sumerian on a tablet dating to the beginning of the second millennium B.C.E., concerns the dilemma of three friends faced with a lack of water:

There were three friends, citizens of Adab, who fell into a dispute with each other, and sought justice. They deliberated the matter with many words, and went before the king.
"Our king! We are ox-drivers. The ox belongs to one man, the cow belongs to one man, and the wagon belongs to one man. We became thirsty and had no water. We said to the owner of the ox, I f you were to fetch some water, then we could drink!' And he said, 'What if...