[11] Due to the major destruction of Assyria during the fall of its empire, some early scholars described the area as an "uninhabited wasteland."

Other Assyriologists, however, such as John Curtis and Simo Parpola, have strongly disputed this claim, citing how Assyria would eventually become one of the wealthiest regions among the Achaemenid Empire.

In contrast to the policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Achaemenid Persians did not intervene in the internal affairs of their ruling satrapies as long as they continued the flow of tribute and taxes back to Persia.

A costly but victorious Battle at Megiddo against the forces of the Kingdom of Judah in 609 allowed Saïte Egypt to advance to the rescue, only to be defeated by the Babylonian-Median-Scythian alliance.

However, according to more recent Assyriologists such as Georges Roux, cities such as Arrapḫa, Guzana (now the ruins of Tell Halaf) and Arbela (now Erbil) remained intact, and Ashur was to revive.

Despite many of the Assyrian cities being left largely in ruins from the battles that led to the fall of its empire in the seventh century BC, rural Assyria was prosperous according to the Greek scholar Xenophon.

[19] After passing Kalhu and Nineveh (which he described in ruins with only a handful of Assyrians dwelling amongst them), Xenophon and the Greeks turned north-west, following the east bank of the Tigris.

In these villages they remained for three days, not only for the sake of the wounded, but likewise because they had provisions in abundance – flour, wine, and great stores of barley that had been collected for horses, all these supplies having been gathered together by the acting satrap of the district.

[21] An inscription found in Egypt, written by Arsames, describes Assyrian cities that obtained administrative centres under Achaemenid rule:[22] Prior to the Persian rule of Assyria, the Achaemenids were greatly Assyrianized,[23] and Aramaic continued as the lingua franca of the Empire in the region, with the Imperial Script the everyday writing system.

[25] The Assyrian Empire resorted to a policy of deporting troublesome conquered peoples (predominantly Aramean tribes as well as many Jews, Elamites and others) into Mesopotamia.

The conquest of Assyria and the violent destruction of the cities meant that many of these bilingual skilled individuals died with their language and the Aramaic script was incorporated into the Assyrian culture by around the late 6th century BC.

[26] Following the Achaemenid conquest of Assyria under Darius I, Imperial Aramaic was adopted as the "vehicle for written communication between the different regions of the vast empire with its different peoples and languages."

[27] Imperial Aramaic was highly standardized; its orthography was based more on historical roots than any spoken dialect, and the inevitable influence of Persian gave the language a new clarity and robust flexibility.

[31] Aramaic dialects and written script survive to this day among the Christian Assyrians of Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran.

Although the effectiveness of the once invincible Assyrian army was shown to be greatly depleted by the time of its eventual collapse, the soldiers of Assyria continued to be brave and fierce warriors.

The western Assyrians of Athura were closer to Mount Lebanon, where fine trees could be found and timber processed for Darius's grand Palace.

Examples include the doorway relief of the palaces in Pasargadae,[35] and in the Bukan area (near Urmia) where various tiles are decorated with human-headed winged figures, lions, and ibexes.

[39] The chief crop that fueled the ever-growing civilizations in the region was the grain barley and enumer wheat though sesame seeds also provided a source of nourishment.

[39] Like much of the rest of the world at the time, the economy of Athura relied heavily upon the produce of the farms and the rivers, including fish and what fruit and meat could be raised in the Euphrates' fertile soils.

[40] Following the Persian conquest, peaches were added to the original Assyrian mix of apples, cherries, figs, pears, plums and pomegranates.

[40] In the north, rainfall in Athura met the demands of farming but in the more southernly parts (covering Mada) Shadufs were used to assist in irrigation.

[42] The down-time resulting from farming and the seasons allowed men and women to master other skills in life such as the arts, philosophy and leisure.

[45] They include traces of kilns on the south side of Room 47 in the Burnt Palace, together with red glass ingots and slag, which after a radiocarbon analysis yielded a date of 425 +/− 50 BC.

[53] From this city, the barbarians (Assyrians) brought over loaves, cheeses and wine, crossing upon rafts made of skins.At the Assur Temple, two shrines have been identified as being built between the fifth and third centuries BC.

[60] Other times include clay spindle whorls, two iron sickle blades, and a bronze plate optimistically identified as a horse's forehead plaque.

[12] Also in the project, a grave site excavated found bodies that included a conical kohl pot and a bronze pin with a castellated top.

Greek rule in the East did not last long, although the cultural impact did - by the mid-third century BC, the satraps began revolting against the Seleucid Empire in Iran and Bactria, establishing their own domains.

Rule by the Parthian Empire aimed to emulate that of their Persian predecessors, the Achaemenids, with a similar system of administration involving satraps and smaller provinces.

Initially, the nomadic military tactic of circling and shooting worked to deadly effect against the slow, heavy-moving infantry of the Romans.

By the second century AD, the Roman Empire under Trajan began to achieve the upper hand against the Parthians and established the province of Assyria along the Euphrates and Tigris.