The second and third pillars of the early period of Persian rule in Yehud were the institutions of High Priest and Prophet, preserved in the Hebrew Bible in the histories of Ezra–Nehemiah and the Books of Chronicles as well as the books of the prophets Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi. But by the mid-5th century BCE the prophets and Davidic kings had disappeared, leaving only the High Priest.[8] The practical result was that after c.500 BCE Yehud became in practice a theocracy, ruled by a line of hereditary High Priests.[9] Alongside the High Priest was the Persian governor, apparently usually a local, charged primarily with keeping order and seeing that tribute was paid. He would have been assisted by various officials and a body of scribes, but there is no evidence that a popular assembly existed, and he would have had little discretion over his core duties.[10] Evidence from seals and coins suggests that most, if not all, of the governors of Persian Yehud were Jewish, a situation which conforms with the general Persian practice of governing through local leaders.[11]