During Vameq's tenure, Georgia was subjected to a series of invasions by the Turco-Mongol emir Timur, of which the kingdom's northwestern provinces were largely spared. The "eristavi" Giorgi, a scion of the former kings of Imereti, took advantage of this and proclaimed himself an independent king in 1389. Many of the western Georgian nobles' reaction to this move was hostile and Giorgi launched a campaign against Dadiani, hoping his victory over the strongest of the western Georgian nobles would bend others into submission. He was defeated and killed in a battle with Vameq, who then invited King George VII of Georgia to reoccupy Imereti.