A son of King Alexander II of Kakheti by his wife Tinatin née Amilakhvari, Constantine was taken in his childhood to Persia where he was converted to Islam, brought up at the court,[1] and lived for many years.
In 1604, Shah Abbas I of Persia appointed him as the governor and commander of Shirvan to fight the Ottoman forces there, and ordered him to secure the Kakhetian participation in the campaign.
As Alexander II was reluctant to engage in this conflict, Constantine, accompanied by a sizable Persian entourage, arrived in Kakheti, being honorably met by his father and elder brother George at a camp near the town of Zagem (Bazari).
The rebellion was led by Ketevan, widow of Constantine's brother David I, who requested aid from his relative King George X of Kartli.
Meanwhile, the Kartlian forces under Prince Papuna Amilakhvari intervened and inflicted a decisive defeat on Constantine's army on 22 October 1605.