[4] Daud Khan did not gain full power until 1569, after defeating anti-Iranian forces in Georgia, and he spent much of his time before his ascension at the court of Shah Tahmasp I.

During the latter's negotiations with Russia regarding a protectorate Russian on Georgia, Khosro-Mirza is proposed as a potential future husband to Princess Xenia Borisovna Godunova, daughter of Tsar Boris Godunov.

[11] Constantine I of Kakheti, assassinated his father on March 12, 1605 and took power in his place; he requested the return of Khosro-Mirza for Princess Xenia, guaranteeing an alliance between Russia and Safavid Iran, but the Russian embassy refused, describing the young prince as "ugly".

[13] During a banquet given in his honor, Saakadze spotted poor Khosro-Mirza among the Georgians present and invited him to sit near him, beginning a close friendship between the two men.

[16] Mouhhibb Ali Bek, one of the most influential officials at the court of Shah Abbas I and supervisor of imperial slaves, undertook the education of Khosro-Mirza around 1615, when he was already almost 50 years old.

In 1618, he was appointed, under the protection of Giorgi Saakadze, Darugha (or prefect) of the Safavid capital, Isfahan, a position which he officially kept until his death, including during his tenure as king of Kartli.

[17] This position not only increased his influence with the imperial court, notably by bringing him closer to the young Sam Mirza, grandson of the shah,[18] but also his power over internal Persian politics.

In his place, Khosro-Mirza appointed his close advisor Pharsadan Gorguidjanidze, who was not only Georgian, but also Christian before his conversion by imperial request, but he was soon dismissed in his turn.

[19] Khosro-Mirza's administration marks the transfer of real power over state affairs from the elite Qizilbash army to the large Georgian slave class.

In a few years, the legal system of Iran fell entirely into the hands of the Georgians,[2] which is confirmed by the appointment of this Rostom Khan Saakadze as Divan-begi (or principal imperial judge).

However, this radical change in central power is the subject of numerous complaints from the Qizilbash military class and Tajik bureaucrats, forcing Khosro-Mirza to become a wealthy patron and support the construction of new bridges, roads, religious temples.

In June 1625,[20] a force of 60,000 Persians landed in Georgia, reinforced by the governors of Shirvan and Yerevan and armed with English artillery supplied to Iran.

Near the village of Tsitsamuri, north of Mtskheta, Saakadze's rebels attacked Khosro-Mirza, who nevertheless emerged victorious from a quick and bloody battle, following which he temporarily established himself in Mukhrani.

From Mukhrani, Khosro-Mirza leaves towards Dusheti, crosses the Mtiuleti and reaches the Khevi mountains, which form the natural border between Georgia and the Ciscaucasia.

[23] A son of Daud Khan, a Georgian prince and convert to Islam, by a concubine, he was born in the Iranian royal capital of Isfahan as Khosro Mirza, and was brought up Muslim by eunuchs alongside young slave recruits.

[26] In 1629, Abbas, lying on a deathbed, urged him to protect a grandson and heir Sam Mirza, the future Shah Safi, whom Khosro served faithfully.

Although Muslim, Rostom helped to restore a major Georgian Orthodox cathedral of Living Pillar (Svetitskhoveli) at Mtskheta, and patronised Christian culture.