The Faith of Kings

At times we look back at the religions of ancient times, that we lightly refer to as mythology, and come to the conclusion that most people, especially the  educated nobles, did not believe in them. However a few of the excerpts from this chapter seemed to show that the kings and nobles did believe in the gods as much as the common folk.
On page 84 it is mentioned how Sennacherib had asked the priests several times to try and discover the reason for the strange death of Sargon II whose body was never even recovered. This passage shows the king's deep concern for the gods. If he  is indeed asking so that he may avoid a similar fate, then it is a sign of his belief in the god's power to control his fate. 
Another passage of note comes on the following page when it is mentioned that the priests did not always agree with each other.Thus if a prophecy is not fulfilled it is the prophet not the gods who were mistaken. This makes sense as they would have believed their gods are perfect and so must be all knowing but humans with their imperfect vision may misread the signs which the gods give.  
In conclusion we can see that the ancient religions of the Middle East wielded not only some level of political power but also a certain amount of real ideological power as well. A power that was felt by many people of all classes.