he birth of Martha and Peter's first son, she was baptized into the Russian Orthodoxy and christened Catherine Alexeyevna I. On February 9, 1712 Catherine I and Peter I were married, and eleven years later on
             Novebmer 15, 1723 Peter had Catherine I crowned Empress to rule at his side. Catherine I and Peter I would have ten children (4 sons and 6 daughters), but only two daughters would survived to adulthood. Peter the Great died on January 29, 1725 without appointing an heir. With the help of Alexander Menshikova, Catherine was able to
             convince the Russian people she should rule not the 8 year-old (Peter I's grandson from 1st marriage) Tsarevich Peter II. Catherine I, the Lithuanian born peasant was the
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