officially liberated allied Georgia from Persian occupation earlier in 1801, making Persia officially lose control over Georgia which it had been ruling for centuries, Alexander fought the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813), the first full-scale war against neighbouring Persia starting in 1804, over control and consolidation over Georgia, but also eventually Azerbaijan, Dagestan and the entire Caucasus in general, which was for large swaths of it an integral territory of Persia. With France Alexander was forced to sue for peace, and by the Treaty of Tilsit, signed in 1807, he became Napoleon's ally. Russia lost little territory under the treaty, and Alexander made use of his alliance with Napoleon for further expansion. By the Finnish War he annexed the eastern portion of Sweden, thereby forming the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809, and acquired Bessarabia from Turkey as a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812). Alexander was determined to acquire the disputed territories of major importance in the Caucasus and beyond. His predecessors had already waged wars against Persia, but they had not been able to consolidate Russian authority over the regions, resulting in the regions either being ceded back or being conquered back. After nine years of battle, Russia managed to bring the war to an end on highly favourable terms, completing Russian consolidation and suzerainty over major parts of the Caucasus including the gains of Dagestan, Georgia, most of Azerbaijan and other regions and territories in the Caucasus over Persia. By now, Russia had both full comfortable access to the Black Sea, and Caspian Sea and it would use these newly gained grounds for further wars against Persia and Turkey. The Russo-French alliance gradually became strained. Napoleon was concerned about Russia's intentions in the strategically vital Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. At the same time, Alexander viewed the Duchy of Warsaw, the French-controlled reconstituted Polish state, with suspicion. The requirement of joining France's Continental Blockade against Britain was a serious disruption of Russian commerce, and in 1810 Alexander repudiated the obligation. In June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with 600,000 troops—a force twice as large as the Russian regular army. Napoleon hoped to inflict a major defeat on the Russians and force Alexander to sue for peace. As Napoleon pushed the Russian forces back, however, he became seriously overextended. Obstinate Russian resistance, members of which declared the Patriotic War, brought Napoleon a disastrous defeat: Less than 30,000 of his troops returned to