He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleonic Wars. In the first years of his reign, he initiated some minor social reforms and (in 1803–04) major liberal educational reforms, such as building more universities. He was deeply religious and promoted the idea of a “Holy Alliance” of Christian monarchs, who would work together to keep peace and stop revolutions. His personality mixed idealism and ambition, so other leaders sometimes wondered whether he really desired to install moral order in Europe or simply a larger and stronger Russian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, Alexander was one of the most powerful rulers in Europe.