 Demetre was able to resume his rule in Guria after having Prince Machutadze murdered Kaikhosro.In the conflict with Kaikhosro, Demetre relied on Vameq III Dadiani, an ambitious prince of Mingrelia and briefly king of Imereti, whom he eventually betrayed and joined King Vakhtang V of Kartli, who intervened in the chaotic civil war in Imereti in 1661.Amid a series of coups and counter-coups, one part of the Imeretian nobles made Demetre king after the abdication of Vakhtang V's son Archil in 1663.