The battle was one of those several conflicts between the Georgian monarchs and the Seljuqid rulers of Anatolia that fill the region's history of the 11th-13th century.

The Kartlian-Imeretian alliance was soon joined by another Georgian monarch, Levan I of Kakheti.

In order to subdue the stubborn Georgian monarch, Shah Tahmasp sent Shahverd Sultan Zyad-Oghlu, beglarbeg of Ganja and Karabakh, with a large army.

In 1612, Luarsab had Mohamed assassinated and allied with another Georgian monarch, Teimuraz I of Kakheti to counter an anticipated Persian aggression.

Immediately after George's ascension to the throne, the shah wrote to the Georgian monarch:

Reliefs on the facade depict early Georgian monarchs, including one kneeling in front of Jesus Christ and the archangels Gabriel and Michael.

Timur personally led most of these raids to subdue the recalcitrant Georgian monarch.

Being a daughter of the Georgian monarch, Bagrat IV, Martha was in line of succession to the Georgian throne behind her brother, future George II of Georgia.

The north transept of the monastery is notable for the depiction of the Georgian monarchs dating from c. 1207.

Georgia abjured any form of dependence on Persia or another power, and every new Georgian monarch would require the confirmation and investiture of the Russian tsar.