His reign coincided with the emergence of large geopolitical changes associated with the slow collapse of the Seleucid Empire and the rise of Parthia, as well as the increasing power of the neighboring Kingdom of Armenia.
While he faced a violent North Caucasian invasion, he repelled it successfully and fortified the Dariali Pass, which would remain Georgia's first line of northern defense until the 19th century.
[1] While the identity of his father is unknown, his mother was said to be a maternal aunt of the wife of King Sauromaces I of Iberia and a sister of the Persian governor of Azerbaijan.
[2] He offered him his oldest daughter to wed, as well as the provinces of Gachiani and Samshvilde, the southern marches of the kingdom, with the title of eristavi ("royal governor").
[1] Along with several other North Caucasian tribes and the Chartaletian clan, which had been settled in Iberia by King Sauromaces I, the Dzurdzuks ravaged the country and captured many Iberians as hostages.
These alliances, however, could not prevent the rise of the Kingdom of Pontus, whose ruler King Mithridates VI Eupator acceded the throne in 120 BC and began a progressive annexation of Colchis.