His attempt to seize the throne of Kakheti after Levan's death in 1574 was defeated by his half-brother, Alexander II.
El-Mirza was born of Levan of Kakheti's second marriage to a daughter of Kamal Kara-Musel, the shamkhal of Tarki in Dagestan.
He further enlisted support of his in-laws from the neighboring kingdom of Kartli, whose ruler, Daud-Khan, sent in an army under the command of Prince Bardzim Amilakhori, Alexander's father-in-law, and Elizbar, Duke of Ksani.
Facing the intervention, El-Mirza and his brothers saw their troops defecting to Alexander and had to rely on the support of the shamkhal and the Lesgians, but were beaten at the battle of Torga.
According to the 18th-century Georgian historian, Prince Vakhushti, the three brothers were killed in this confrontation,[2][3] but El-Mirza appears to have died in 1580.