A son of King
Alexander II of Kakheti by his wife, Princess Tinatin
Amilakhvari, Constantine was taken in his childhood to
Persia where he was converted to
Islam, brought up at the court, and lived for many years. When envoys from his father Alexander II,
Simon I of Kartli, and Manuchir II of
Samtskhe arrived at the Safavid court between 1596 and 1597 with many gifts, including slave boys and girls, Constantine entertained them. He served as a
darugha (prefect) of the royal city of
Qazvin and then of
Isfahan (1602–1603). In 1604,
Shah Abbas I of Persia appointed him as the governor and commander of
Shirvan to fight the
Ottoman forces there, and ordered him to secure the Kakhetian participation in the campaign. As Alexander II was reluctant to engage in this conflict, Constantine, accompanied by a sizable Persian entourage, arrived in Kakheti, being honorably met by his father and elder brother
George at a camp near the town of
Zagem (Bazari). On 12 March 1605, during the negotiations, Constantine murdered Alexander and George, and declared himself King of Kakheti. However, his subjects refused to recognize a patricide and revolted. The rebellion was led by
Ketevan, widow of Constantine's brother
David I, who requested aid from his relative King
George X of Kartli. Constantine succeeded in bribing some of the rebel nobles, and, on the shah's order, led a combined Kakhetian-
Qizilbash army against Shirvan. During the protracted siege of
Shemakha, the Kakhetian auxiliaries revolted and made Constantine flee. The rebels sent emissaries to Shah Abbas and pledged loyalty provided that Abbas confirmed their candidate, Ketevan's son
Teimuraz, as a Christian king of Kakheti. Meanwhile, the Kartlian forces under Prince Papuna Amilakhvari intervened and inflicted a decisive defeat on Constantine's army on 22 October 1605. Constantine was killed in battle, and Abbas was forced to acknowledge Teimuraz as a king. == Marriage ==