Boroldai
(or Burulday, Borolday), also known as
Burundai
, (Cyrillic:
Боролдай
) (died 1262) was a notable
Mongol
general of the mid 13th century. He participated in the
Mongol invasion of Russia
and
Europe
in 1236-1242
[1]
and other Mongol raids to Europe until 1263.
The clan of Borolday is not clear. He was probably from one of four tribes that
Chinggis Khaan
(1162?1227) assigned to his eldest son,
Jochi
: the
Sanchi'ud (or Salji'ud), Keniges, Uushin, and Je'ured clans
.
Career
[
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]
Serving under Jochi's successor and son,
Batu Khan
, Borolday's vanguard surprised and crushed the great army of
Yuri II
, the
Grand Prince
of
Vladimir
, at the
battle of the Sit River
in 1238. He also participated in the
Siege of Kiev
in 1240. After the conquest of Rus, the Mongols invaded Eastern Europe and parts of Central Europe. His name appears as Bujgai or Bujakh in
The Secret History of the Mongols
. According to
The Secret History of the Mongols
,
Ogedei
, Khagan of the
Mongol Empire
, praised Subutai and Bujgai's merit when he criticized his son
Guyuk
's arrogant behaviour during the campaign. Borolday assisted
Subutai
to prepare the strategy of the final assault during the
Battle of Mohi
(1241). Borolday's division directly attacked the main camp of King
Bela IV of Hungary
. Batu's brother Shiban's vanguard supported this attack. After a very hard fight, Batu's army crushed the
Hungarians
and their allies,
Croats
and
Templar Knights
at Mohi on April 11, 1241.
During the succession struggle over the throne of the Mongol Empire in early 1251, 100,000
Jochid
troops under Borolday were stationed near
Otrar
to keep an eye on the
Chagatayids
who allied with the
Ogedeids
against Batu's cousin and ally,
Mongke
.
In 1255,
Daniel of Galicia
revolted against the Mongol rule. He repelled the initial Mongol assault under Orda's son Quremsa.
Berke
replaced Quremsa, son of his eldest brother,
Orda
, with the much experienced Borolday. The latter led a force that overcame the resistance of
Danylo of Halych
in 1259. According to some sources, Daniel fled to Poland leaving his son and brother at the mercy of the Mongol army. He may have hidden in the castle of Galicia instead. The Mongols needed to halt Poland's aid to Daniel as well as war booty to feed the demand of their soldiers. Boroldai forced him to demolish all walls of cities in Galich and Volhynia.
[2]
The Mongols knew that the Lithuanians had raided Mongol vassals, Smolensk and Torzhok, in the previous year.
[3]
Alongside
Talabuga
Khan and
Nogai
, Boroldai led a
punitive expedition
against the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. The Mongols attacked Lithuania, but the Lithuanians fled before the decisive battle. After pillaging several villages and towns in Lithuania, Borolday returned to Galich and demanded Daniel assist him in his battle against the Poles. The Rus soldiers under Daniel's son, Lev, and brother, Vasily, joined the Mongol expedition.
Lublin
,
Sandomierz
,
Zawichost
,
Krakow
, and
Bytom
were ravaged and plundered by the Mongol army. Berke had no intention of occupying or conquering Poland. After this raid
Pope Alexander IV
tried without success to organize a
crusade
against the Mongols.
After 1259, Boroldai's name does not appear again in Russian annals. A general named Burulday was killed in the battle at the
Terek River
on January 13, 1263, during the
Berke?Hulagu war
. This may have been Boroldai. His name appears in the opera
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya
by
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
, and in Mongolian fairy tales.
Sources
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Leo de Hartog (2004).
Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World
. Tauris Parke Paperbacks.
ISBN
1-86064-972-6
, p.165
- ^
Michael B. Zdan "The Dependence of Halych-Volyn' Rus' on the Golden Horde",
The Slavonic and East European Review
, Vol. 35, No. 85 (Jun., 1957), p. 516
- ^
"Новгородская летопись"
.