ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
By 1853, the Ottoman Empire was declining and Russia sought to expand. A dispute over holy places in Jerusalem led Tsar Nicholas I to occupy Ottoman territories in July 1853.
What happened
The war began October 4, 1853. Britain and France joined the Ottomans in 1854. The 11-month Siege of Sevastopol featured the Charge of the Light Brigade and Florence Nightingale's nursing reforms. It was the first photographed war.
Why it still matters
The 1856 Treaty of Paris defeated Russia and ended the Concert of Europe. It led to army reforms, the Geneva Convention, and Russian emancipation of serfs in 1861. The war was the first modern industrial conflict, foreshadowing WWI.
Background
The conflict is associated with Florence Nightingale's reforms.