Boroldai or Burundai Боролдай (died 1262) was a notable Mongol general of the mid 13th century. He participated in the Mongol invasion of Russia and Europe

Mongol invasion of Europe

The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...

 in 1236-1242.

His name is mentioned as Bujgai or Bujakh in The Secret History of the Mongols

The Secret History of the Mongols

The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work...

. In 1238, Borolday or Burundai crushed the army of Yuri II

Yuri II

Yuri II , also known as George II of Vladimir or Georgy II Vsevolodovich , was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir who presided over Vladimir-Suzdal at the time of the Mongol invasion of Russia.He was the third and best-loved son of Vsevolod III and Maria Shvarnovna.He first...

, the Grand Prince

Grand Prince

The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...

 of Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...

 , at the battle of the Sit River

Battle of the Sit River

The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia on March 4, 1238 between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Rus' people under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus...

. Serving under Batu Khan

Batu Khan

Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...

 and later his brother Berke

Berke

Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...

, he led a force that overcame the resistance of Danylo of Halych in 1259. After that, alongside Nogai Khan

Nogai Khan

Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...

, he led a second raid against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 and Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. He invaded southern Lithuania, but the Lithuanians fled before the decisive battle. After that he plundered several villages of northern Poland and cities such as Sandomierz

Sandomierz

Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...

, Zawichost

Zawichost

Zawichost is a small town in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in southern Poland, near Sandomierz....

, and Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

.

He was probably killed in battle at the Terek River on January 13, 1263, during the Berke-Hulagu war

Berke-Hulagu war

The Berke-Hulagu war was a civil war in the Mongol Empire which fought between two Mongol leaders: Berke Khan of the Golden Horde, and Hulagu Khan of the Ilkhanate. It was fought mostly in the Caucasus mountains area in the 1260s after the destruction of Baghdad in 1258...

. His name appears in the opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya

The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya

The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya is an opera in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on a combination of two Russian legends: that of St. Fevroniya of Murom, and the city of Kitezh, which became invisible...

by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...

, and in Mongolian fairy tales.

Sources

• Ж.Бор - Монгол хийгээд Евразийн дипломат шаштир боть 2

• Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Jami' al-Tawarikh ("Compendium of Chronicles")