In 1177-1178, Amirspasalar Ivane Orbeli led a rebellion against the Georgian king George III, who broke his word and did not enthrone the legitimate heir to the throne, his nephew, Prince Demna.

However, King George managed to cause a split among the rebels, luring most of them to his side (including the Armenian princes Zakarids, who later received the hereditary title of Amirspasalars - commanders-in-chief of the Armenian-Georgian army).

In order to further unite the Armenian-Georgian nobility around her throne, Queen Tamar, daughter of George III, pardoned all those who had rebelled against her father and allowed them to return to Georgia.

Among others Ivane, the youngest son of Liparit II Orbelian returned to Georgia, who received only a small part of his former family holdings around the fortress of Orbeti.

Later, thanks to personal relations with the great Khan in Karakorum, Smbat II managed to strengthen the position of the Orbelian family considerably.

The Syunik prince Smbat Orbelian, besieged in the fortress of Vorotnaberd, was captured by the conquerors and sent with his family to Samarkand, from where he returned after forced conversion to Islam.

However, after the defeat of Tabriz troops at Sofyan in 1437, Rustam Orbelian was forced to leave Syunik and move to Lori, selling his lands to the Tatev Monastery.