The Achaemenid Empire (pron.: /əˈkiːmənɪd/; Old Persian: Parsā, name of ruling dynasty: Haxāmanišiya) (c. 550–330 BC), also known as the First Persian Empire, was a Persian empire in Western Asia, founded in the 6th century BC by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation. The dynasty draws its name from king Achaemenes, who ruled Persia between 705 BC and 675 BC. The empire expanded to eventually rule over significant portions of the ancient world which at around 500 BC stretched from the Indus Valley in the east, to Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece, making it the biggest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenid Empire would eventually control Egypt as well. It was ruled by a series of monarchs who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads.