[1] Indeed, he began his reign in 1412 by putting an end to the noble rebellions of western Georgia, notably during the conflict between Abkhazia and Mingrelia;[2] in 1414, he decided to take as his wife Princess Tamar of Imereti, niece of the former rebel king Constantine II of Imereti, and decided to carve out of the royal domains a duchy for Tamar's brother, Demetrius, who lived then in poverty.
[1] The duchy is a direct vassal of the Georgian crown and must swear allegiance to kings Alexander I and his sons, Vakhtang IV, Demetrius III and George VIII,[1] who govern the kingdom together.
[4] He remained loyal to the central government at the start of his reign and the duchy participated in 1460 in the Georgian embassy sent to Western Europe to encourage a new crusade against the Ottomans, sending a Mingrelian named Kassadan Qartchikhan.
After allying himself with the duchies of Mingrelia, Svaneti, Guria and Abkhazia and Samtskhe-Saatabago, he went to war against George VIII and defeated the royal troops at the Battle of Chikhori in 1463.
The Duchy of Samokalako was ruled by an Eristavi, a noble governor appointed by the king and controlling a region on behalf of the Crown.