The king’s ability to tax these farmers was essential to his continued control of the government. Without the revenue the agricultural sector he could not raise armies, build cities, or carry out any of the functions of the state. In order to facilitate his control of agriculture, royal laws stipulated that the king was the owner of all land in his kingdom. His officials were to collect an annual land tax of ten percent of all farmers' produce. This tax functioned as rent for the use of the land. In the areas around his center of power this was more or less how agriculture was governed. Officials collected these heavy taxes in the name of the king. There were even laws that bound peasants to the land. Every farmer was born to work a certain parcel and there was virtually nothing he could do to escape this obligation or improve his lot.