[3] In the early 1630s, the Persians tried to put Kakheti under control of the more submissive Kingdom of Kartli, led by Georgian prince Rostom, a convert to Islam.

[5] The Eristavi Zaal, Duke of Aragvi, one of the main feudal lords in Kakheti and a former supporter of Teimuraz who had made allegiance to Rostom and the Persians in 1648 and thus gained even more power, took the lead of the uprising.

Georgian mountain people, such as the Tushs, the Khevsurians, and the Pshavs, also joined the rebellion,[6] under the leadership of Zezva Gaprindauli, Nadir Khosharauli, and Gogolauri.

However, the weak organization and isolation of the rebels allowed the Persians, now under the personal direction of Shah Abbas II, to successfully counter-attack and defeat them.

Upon that news, Bidzina Choloqashvili, Shalva of Ksani, and Elizbar Eristvisshvili asked the shah for forgiveness, but he had them delivered to the tribes that the insurgents had massacred earlier.

The uprising soon entered Georgian collective memory, and many songs and poems were composed about it, while the mountain warriors became well-known folk heroes.