He was a son of Erekle I and his wife Anna. Together with his mother, Teimuraz ruled as regent for his absent brother David II (Imam Quli-Khan) from 1709 to 1715. In 1732, the Turks killed the next king and Teimuraz’s other brother, Constantine, and took control of his kingdom. His successor, Teimuraz, fled to the mountains of Pshavi and fought the occupants from there. In July 1735, the resurgent Persian ruler Nader Shah Afshar invaded Kakheti and forced the Turks out of most of eastern Georgia. Nader summoned Teimuraz to his headquarters at Erivan and, upon his refusal to convert to Islam, had him detained. Kakheti was placed under the nominal government of Teimuraz's Muslim nephew Ali Mirza. In October 1735, Teimuraz escaped to the mountains of Kakheti and fomented unrest against the Persian rule, but he was captured by the close of 1736.