after the fall of assyria between 612 and 599 bc, after decades of civil war, followed by an attack by an alliance of former subject peoples; the medes, persians, babylonians, chaldeans, scythians and cimmerians, its people became an integral part of the achaemenid empire (as did assyria itself), holding important military, civic and economic positions, and the achaemenid persians, having spent centuries under assyrian domination, were greatly influenced by assyrian art and architecture, modelled their empire upon assyrian lines, and saw themselves as the successors of the great assyrian kings. assyrians are still attested as being extant in the north west of the region during the parthian empire (160 bc-223 ad) and sassanid empire (224-650 ad), and throughout the middle ages, where the bukhtishu family of physicians were held in great regard by the persian kings.