Relations between the Ottoman Empire and France had been strained with the French acquisition of the Ionian Islands in 1797, and the consequent anti-Ottoman propaganda disseminated in the Balkans by French agents. When the French invaded Egypt, the Ottomans declared war (9 September 1798) and subsequently signed a treaty of alliance with Russia (23 December). This was the beginning of the Second Coalition. During the war, the Ionian Islands were re-conquered with Russian help and a Republic under Ottoman suzerainty set up.