From 1806 to 1811, the Napoleonic Empire was at its height. Most of Western and central Europe was under Napoleon’s control, either directly or indirectly through allies, defeated countries, or favorable treaties for France. The only remaining free sovereignties were the Ottoman, Austrian, and Russian Empires. At the same time, Russia, ruled by Tsar Alexander I, was economically poor, having little in the way of manufacturing and relying heavily on trade with Napoleon's continental system for both money and manufactured goods. Alexander’s withdrawal from the French favored system was an incentive for Napoleon to wage war on the Russian Empire. On June 24th, 1812, the largest the largest army assembled up to that point in European history,