Boroldai (or Burulday, Borolday), also known asBurundai, (Cyrillic:Боролдай) (died 1263) was aMongol general of the mid 13th century. He participated in theMongol invasion of Kievan Rus' andEurope from 1236 to 1242[1] He distinguished himself in theconquest of Ryazan andSuzdal.[2] He led other Mongol raids of Europe until 1263.
The clan of Borolday is not clear. He was probably from one of four tribes thatGenghis Khan (1162–1227) assigned to his eldest son,Jochi: theSanchi'ud (or Salji'ud), Keniges, Uushin, and Je'ured clans.
Serving under Jochi's successor and son,Batu Khan, Borolday's vanguard surprised and crushed the army ofgrand princeYuri II of Vladimir at thebattle of the Sit River in 1238. He also participated in theSiege of Kiev in 1240. After the conquest of Rus', the Mongols also invaded other parts of Eastern and Central Europe. His name appears as Bujgai or Bujakh inThe Secret History of the Mongols, according to which,Ögedei, Khagan of theMongol Empire, praised Subutai and Bujgai's merit when he criticized his sonGüyük's arrogant behaviour during the campaign. Borolday assistedSubutai to prepare the strategy for the final assault during theBattle of Mohi (1241). Borolday's division directly attacked the main camp of KingBéla IV of Hungary. Batu's brother Shiban's vanguard supported this attack. After a very hard fight, Batu's army crushed theHungarians and their allies,Croats andTemplar Knights at Mohi on April 11, 1241.
During the succession struggle for the throne of the Mongol Empire in early 1251, 100,000Jochid troops under Borolday were stationed nearOtrar to keep an eye on theChagatayids who allied with theÖgedeids against Batu's cousin and ally,Möngke.
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 brotherOrda, with the much experienced Borolday. The latter led a force that overcame the resistance ofDanylo 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.[3] The Mongols knew that the Lithuanians had raided Mongol vassals, Smolensk and Torzhok, in the previous year.[4] AlongsideTalabuga Khan andNogai, Boroldai led apunitive expedition against theGrand 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,Kraków, andBytom 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 acrusade against the Mongols.
After 1259, Boroldai's name does not appear again inRus' chronicles. A general named Burulday was killed in the battle at theTerek River on 13 January 1263, during theBerke–Hulagu war. This may have been Boroldai. His name appears in the operaThe Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya (1907) byNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and in Mongolian fairy tales.