capital of Salachik (prior to this, the nearby cliff-fort of Chufut-Kale and before that Stary Krym had served as capitals). Sahib expanded the harbor of Gozlev/Yevpatoria, giving the khanate its own port. He tried to weaken the great nobles by bringing their leaders to court and elevating the lesser nobles, and tried to sedentarize the Nogais. When Sahib went to war he was accompanied by a guard of musketeers, wagons and field artillery. The main force was tribal cavalry. In 1538 Sahib joined forces with Suleiman the Magnificent to fight the Moldavian ruler Petru Rareș, resulting in the Ottoman occupation of Ochakov and the separation of the Budjak coast from Moldavia. In 1539 Sahib marched to the Taman peninsula to punish the Circassians for their attacks on Muslims. Kansavuk, the leader of the Zhaney tribe, bought him off with gifts to the Khan, Sultan and Turkish governor of Kaffa. A search in the mountains for the guilty parties failed. On the way back the Crimeans looted some Circassian villages. In the winter of 1539/40 Sahib and his son Emin raided Lithuania and possibly Muscovy. The campaign was successful, but the returning troops suffered much from the cold. In 1541 Sahib and Emin raided Muscovy. The runaway Prince Semyon Belsky promised to show them a ford over the Oka River, but they were late due to quarrels between Sahib and Baki-Beg. The Russians blocked the river bank with artillery and the Crimeans went home, taking a little loot. In 1542 Sahib and Emin returned to the North Caucasus because Kansavuk had not fulfilled his promises, including the delivery of slaves. They entered the mountains, were attacked at night, were victorious, and returned with much loot. 1544 the Kabardian Prince Elbozady arrived in Crimea asking for help against his rebellious subjects. The Tatars marched east, defeated a night attack by the Kabardians and returned with many captives. In 1545 Astrakhan was captured and Yamghurchi of Astrakhan was driven out. In 1546 10000 Nogais under Ali-Mirza attacked Crimea to avenge the capture of Astrakhan. The Crimeans surrounded them near Perekop and utterly defeated them by blasting them with artillery and musket fire. After the battle Sahib ordered many of the prisoners executed. Overthrow and death (1551) Some time before 1551 Sahib had requested that his nephew Devlet (Devlet I Giray) be sent from Istanbul so that he could be made khan of Kazan.