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Nicholas I (Николай I Павлович, r Nikolai I Pavlovich; 6 July [O.S. 25 June] 1796 – 2 March [O.S. 18 February] 1855) was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. He was also the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the younger brother of his childless predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him, and went on to become the most reactionary of Russian monarchs. In his last years, Nicholas I led the Imperial Russian Army in the unsuccessful Crimean War. However, he was also instrumental in helping to create an independent Greek state, and also seized more territories in the Caucasus (including modern day Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and parts of eastern Anatolia) at the expense of Persia, by defeating the Ottoman empire and Persian Empire in the Russo-Turkish war 1828-1829 and Russo-Persian War 1826-1828 respectively. Thus he was a key player in the ascendency of Russia as a world power and helped hasten the disintegration of the aging Ottoman empire. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles).