beyond that, the byzantines were at that time involved in a relentless war with the bulgarian empire, limiting their actions to the west. but as soon as bulgaria was conquered, and al-hakim was no more alive, basil led his army against georgia (1021). an exhausting war lasted for two years, and ended in a decisive byzantine victory, forcing giorgi to agree to a peace treaty, in which he had not only to abandon his claims to tao, but to surrender several of his southwestern possessions to basil, and to give his three-year-old son, bagrat, as hostage. following the peace treaty, constantinople was visited by catholicos-patriarch melchizedek i of georgia, who gained byzantine financial aid for the construction of "svetitskhoveli" (literally, the "living pillar"), a major orthodox cathedral in the eastern georgian town of mtskheta.