In alliance with Bagrat of Imereti, Luarsab fought both empires trying to preserve his independence and reestablish close cooperation between various Georgian polities.

The year 1545 brought another misfortune: a combined army of the Imeretian and Kartlian kings were crushed by the Ottomans at the Battle of Sokhoista and expelled from Samtskhe.

The Treaty of Amasya, 1555, between the Safavids and Ottomans left Georgia divided between these empires, with the east under Persian domination and the west under Turkish control.

Luarsab, however, did not recognise the treaty, and continued desperate guerilla war against the Persian occupation forces virtually holding them under siege.

In order to subdue the stubborn Georgian monarch, Shah Tahmasp sent Shahverdi Sultan, beglarbeg of Ganja and Karabakh, with a large army.