Boroldai (c1210-1263)

Burundai (Бурундай) or Boroldai (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.

His name is mentioned as Bujgai or Bujakh in The Secret History of the Mongols. In 1238, Borolday or Burundai crushed the army of Yuri II, the Grand Prince of Vladimir, at the battle of the Sit River. Serving under Batu Khan and later his brother Berke, he led a force that overcame the resistance of Danylo of Halych in 1259. After that, alongside Nogai Khan, he led a second raid against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. 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, Zawichost, and Kraków.

He was probably killed in battle at the Terek River during the Berke-Hulagu war. 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.