Son of Bagrat VI of Georgia, he briefly succeeded his father in 1478 during the Georgian civil war of 1463–1491 which divided the kingdom into several independent states.

Expelled by the pretender, his uncle Constantine II, he quickly took refuge in the northern mountains of western Georgia, where he continued the civil war for several years.

But Constantine, who already governs Kvemo Kartli and Georgian Armenia, threatens Tbilisi, the capital, and Alexander tries to have himself crowned in Kutaisi, in western Georgia, by the Catholicos of Abkhazia.

[4] Vameq II Dadiani, who wishes to take revenge on the inheritance of Bagrat VI for the latter's autocracy,[5] forms an alliance with Constantine and helps the latter to invade Imereti.

Modern historian Donald Rayfield, however, assumes that Constantine II made Alexander Duke of Racha and Lechkhumi in 1479, with residence at the royal court of Kutaisi.

[12] Constantine II continued his war to reunify Georgia and attempted to invade Imereti in 1485,[13] but was defeated by Alexander and a nobleman from the Lortkipanidze family in the Battle of Chikhori.

In 1489, a coalition of mountain forces from Racha, Lechkhumi and Svaneti[14] invaded Imereti and captured many strategic fortresses without giving Constantine the opportunity to retaliate.

In 1490, Tbilisi liberated, Constantine II brought together his royal council to decide on a plan of action for the reconquest of Kakheti, Imereti and Samtskhe.

However, the great Georgian nobility who sat on the council feared seeing Constantine's powers increase considerably and decided to officially dissolve the kingdom of Georgia created in 1008.

He spent his first years on the throne trying to establish his power by waging war against recalcitrant lords: several were executed and others were confiscated of their lands and titles of nobility or replaced by other nobles loyal to him.

With them, he only found peace[16] after an agreement that defined the rest of the history of the kingdom of Imereti: Alexander II also tried to force his jurisdiction in Abkhazia by subduing Solomon Sharvashidze, as well as the ducal Gelovani family of Svaneti.

[16] Contemporary documents show that Alexander quickly became involved in the internal affairs of Svaneti and during a political conflict over domination of the mountain province, he supported the Japaridze-Kuchaidze clan.

[23] Imitating his colleagues from Kartli and Kakheti, he embarked on a military reform which divided the armed forces into four Sadrosho, headed by the king and the hereditary lords of Argveti, Racha and Lechkhumi.

[18] While a similar reform in Kakheti gave the monarch great control over his army, Alexander's changes allowed the nobility to increase their powers, further dividing the small kingdom.

Alexander left Gori immediately, authorizing David X of Kartli to reconquer the provinces occupied by the Imeretians,[27] but failed to free the prisoners captured as slaves by the Ottomans.