Ğazı Giray's first action as khan was to appoint his brother
Fetih Giray and nephew Nepht Giray as the first and second heirs apparent (Kalgay and Nura'l-din respectively) to the throne. Alp Giray and his Nura'l-din Sakay Giray fled to Constantinople and Circassia respectively. He then moved in to secure the khanate's external borders from the Cossacks who had stepped up their raids following the death of
Stephen Báthory in 1586. A fort was erected on the mouth of river
Dnieper and a punitive expedition was launched on Podolia. The expansion of
Russian influence in the Caucasus the successive reigns of
Ivan the Terrible and
Feodor I caused concern in Crimea. Ğazı Giray seized opportunity of a Swedish offer of an alliance to attack Muscovy from the south, while the Swedes invaded from the north. On 13 July 1591, the Crimeans besieged
Moscow, realizing that their cavalry was no match for the city's modern fortifications they lifted the siege. The khan was wounded in the campaign, returning to his palace in a cart on 9 August. After negotiations over a peace agreement broke down Fetih Giray successfully raided
Tula and
Ryazan, taking numerous prisoners later to be sold in the khanate's lucrative
slave markets. Fearing a war on two fronts the Muscovites yielded, gifting the khan 10,000
rubles and agreeing to withdraw the Cossacks from
Terek and
Don. In return the Tatars swore not to attack Russia during the summer of 1594, the agreement was concluded in October 1593. The agreement paved the way for the Crimean intervention into the
Long Turkish War in Hungary, while Russia was able to augment its northern borders. On 28 April 1594, the Tatar army crossed into the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth en route to Hungary. The Tatars found the Balkan pass blocked by ruble and then marched to the so-called Tatar pass which was guarded by Kaspar Kornis an officer of the Voivode of Transylvania
Sigismund Báthory and commander of the nearby
Huszt castle. A battle ensued, whereupon the defenders suffered a devastating defeat. The Tatars clashed with the Hungarians under Bastuvan in Devirsin (possibly
Debrecen), achieving another victory. The Tatar force united with their Ottoman allies commanded by grand vizier
Koca Sinan Pasha on 31 July, the event was later celebrated by a full dress military parade and a feast. At the time the Muslim army had camped opposite of
Raab and was separated from the city by the river of the same name. On 1 August, the Ottoman–Tatar army crossed the river and stormed the Raab castle, they were met by a flurry of gunfire and were forced to retreat. The following day the Ottomans began constructing a bridge across the river, enabling their
musketeers and artillery to close in on their target. On 27 September, a second assault took place, it proved successful and the city fell. A part of the Crimean army was diverted to the fort of
Pápa, which they found abandoned. The Muslims then besieged
Komárom, however the siege was soon lifted after the advent of winter. Ğazı Giray retired to his winter quarters after leaving 2,000 of his men to garrison Pápa and
Székesfehérvár. The palace intrigues surrounding the death of sultan
Murad III frustrated Ottoman plans in Hungary. More importantly Wallachian voivode
Michael the Brave and voivode of Moldavia
Aaron the Tyrant had revolted against Ottoman authority. In late January 1595, the Tatars now loaded with booty began their journey home. Upon crossing the frozen
Danube into
Wallachia they were attacked by Michael's troops, suffering a devastating defeat they fell back to
Silistra. The Khan informed the grand vizier
Serdar Ferhad Pasha of the new state of affairs in Wallachia and urged him to dispatch a fleet to
Ochakiv in order to ferry a 100,000 man army under Fetih Giray to the Balkans. The khan spent the summer in Crimea. The arrival of Fetih's army in September coincided with the Ottoman decision to transform Wallachia and Moldavia from tributary states into
beylerbeyliks. Ğazı Giray seized the opportunity and requested that one of his relatives be appointed governor of the new province. The Ottomans feared that the Tatars would merge Moldavia with the rest of the khanate and instead appointed Ahmed Bey to the position. The Tatars conquered Moldavia after vanquishing Sigismund Báthory's and
Ștefan Răzvan's forces. The Poles reacted by tasking
Jan Zamoyski with checking the Tatar advance in the region. The two sides fought the
Battle of Cecora (1595) on 19 September, before agreeing to mutually withdraw and recognize
Ieremia Movilă as the new Moldavian voivode. The khan wintered in
Bender, launching numerous diversionary raids into Wallachia while Fetih Giray
besieged Eger with the Ottomans. In the meantime, the Habsburgs had crossed the swamps in the Eger area posing a threat to the Muslim army. The two sides engaged in the
Battle of Keresztes on 26 October 1596. The Muslims emerged victorious at the conclusion of the battle, the largest to take place during the course of the war. ==Second Reign==