Notwithstanding a considerable period of Egyptian rule, therefore, Babylonian influence, which had been predominant in the tract for many centuries, still held the upper hand. Merodach was to all appearance venerated, Nergal was worshipped as the god of death and disease, Ištar was held in high esteem. It must have been during those centuries of Babylonian rule that the worship of Tammuz or Adonis got into the country, becoming one of the stumbling-blocks of the Israelites in later days, when Hebrew women lamented for him, hidden in the realm of darkness where dwelt Persephone (Ereš-ki-gala, “the lady of the great domain” of the Babylonians), into whose realm, at great risk, Ištar, his spouse, descended to seek him, but only escaped from the rival’s clutches by the intervention of the gods. Exceedingly interesting are the various forms of government in Western Asia at this period. Among hereditary chiefs may be mentioned Etakama of Gidši (Kadesh), Šum-addu, who is probably the same as Šamu-Addu, prince of Šamḫuna, Mut-zu’u (see p. 286), and Azru, though this last is doubtful, as in one of the letters he calls himself a governor installed by the king of Egypt. The best example of an elected chief, however, is in all probability Yabitiri, governor of Gaza and Jaffa, who, when young, went down to Egypt and served in the Egyptian army, being afterwards appointed to the posts which he held later. The power of the Egyptian kings of a period somewhat preceding this is well exemplified by the fact, that Addu-nirari of Assyria attributes to an Egyptian ruler the appointment of his grandfather and father as kings of Nuḫašše, on account of which all three rulers seem to have acknowledged Egyptian overlordship. An interesting instance of female rule is that of Nin-Urmuru (?),(57) who, in her letters, mentions Ajalon and Sarḫa (identified with Zorah), probably lying in her district. Most interesting of all, however, is the case of Jerusalem, whose ruler, as will be seen from the letters quoted later on, was apparently elected by some of the magnates of the district which acknowledged his sway, and who were probably the members of a religious community. Nothing, however, is known of the electorate or the system of election employed—all that can be said is, that the ruler was not placed there by virtue of his father or his mother, but by the “mighty king.”