He succeeded as the head of the house of Abashidze and prince of Saabashidzo in Upper Imereti on the death of his father in 1658.
At that time, the kingdom of Imereti was plagued by a civil war in which neighboring Georgian polities were also involved.
Abashidze's influence grew during the reign of Alexander IV, whose sister Darejan, a former wife of ex-king George Gurieli, he married in 1683.
Paata Abashidze became a major supporter of Alexander in a renewed civil war in 1684, when George Gurieli attempted to reclaim the crown of Imereti in alliance with Shoshita III, Duke of Racha, Giorgi Lipartiani, regent of Mingrelia, the princes Chijavadze and the nobles of Lechkhumi.
The decisive battle at Rokiti ended in Alexander's victory and claimed lives of his major foes, George Gurieli and Shoshita of Racha.