The Crimean War was a conflict that lasted across Europe from October 1853 to February 1856. This war involved Russia, France, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia. They all had one main ambition: to fight for the Holy Land and the Middle East. Orthodox Russia and Catholic France wanted the Holy Land in the Ottoman Empire, which was a major factor in conflict between the two countries. The problems began when France and Russia became embroiled in a conflict over control of religious sites near Jerusalem. Russia wanted to control the border territories of the two nations close to the Ottoman Empire, including Constantinople. When the Ottoman Empire granted Roman Catholics equal rights to Greek Orthodox Christians in 1852, Russia responded by deploying military and political pressure on the Ottomans. Dissension arose in the Middle East between the great powers who attempted to directly rule this sacred Holy Land. Russia wanted to protect the Orthodox essence of the Ottoman Sultan. Control of Christian shrines in the Holy Land also became a subject of controversy: "The Ottomans did not...