Having taken part in a rebellion against Nader Shah's Persia, Mamuka had to take refuge in the Russian Empire, where he pursued a military career.
He assumed the headship of the house of Mukhrani in 1730[1][2] or 1734,[3] when the Kingdom of Kartli was in a state of turmoil and occupied by the Ottoman army.
As the Persians began to gain an upper hand in eastern Caucasia, the Georgian nobility became divided on how to deal with the reemerging regional power.
He managed to escape and fled to the Russian Empire, where he adopted the surname Davydov, a reference to his family's claim of Davidic descent.
Mamuka was appointed the unit's first commander with the rank of a captain and rewarded with an estate in what is now Ukraine.