He was appointed in Istanbul in November 1730. His kalga and nureddin were Adil and Haji Giray. Many people exiled by Meñli returned and there were shifts in power within the Crimean ruling class. It is possible that the exiles had something to do with Meñli’s overthrow. In 1733 or 1734 he went to
Bender and
Khotyn to support the French candidate during the
War of the Polish Succession. The sources do not explain what he did. During his reign Russia and Turkey
went to war. At the time of his appointment in 1730, Persia was regaining lands it had lost to Turkey in 1722. The Turks considered using Crimean troops against Persia, as they had
in 1725. Before leaving Istanbul in 1730 Qaplan recommended caution since any campaign in the north Caucasus might provoke the Russians, who were now within striking distance of Crimea. In 1733 or 1734 the Turks had Qaplan send a force under Fetih (possibly
Fetih I Giray) across the north Caucasus. Eropkin tried to stop him at the
Terek River and lost 55 men. The army went down the west shore of the Caspian as far as the
Samur River, where it was recalled by Turkey for unexplained reasons. In 1735 Qaplan personally led 80,000 men across the north Caucasus and stopped in Chechnya, where the Chechens inflicted a crushing defeat on his army, killing 10,000 Crimean soldiers. He continued to Dagestan and then south to
Derbent. At the end of 1735 he heard of Leontev’s raid on Crimea and turned back. He spent time foraging in
Kabardia and reached Crimea in the spring of 1736. These two raids were one pretext for the Russian invasion. With Crimean troops away from the peninsula and the Turks tied down with Persia, Russia had an opportunity for a surprise attack. In 1735
General Münnich went south and found that his army would not be ready until the following year. Leontev raided toward Crimea but turned back because it was too late in the season. In April 1736 Muennich marched to Crimea. By 19 May he had 30000 troops facing
Perekop. On 20 May
the wall was breached and two days later the
Or Qapi fort surrendered. Russia now entered Crimea for the first time. In June they captured
Bakhchisarai and burned the khan’s palace. Most of the Crimean army scattered to the hills while the Turks withdrew to
Kaffa. One writer says that Kaplan was unable to command because of gout. Muennich hoped to capture Kaffa, but on 25 June decided to withdraw. A third of his army was sick with
dysentery and many of the rest were weakened. There was also not enough food, fresh water or fodder to support his army. By mid-July he was back on the Dnieper bend, having lost half of his army, 2000 of them to fighting and the rest from disease. Because of the invasion Qaplan was replaced by
Fetih II Giray, who faced a second invasion the following year. ==Retirement and death==