Eljigidei Noyan (, d. 1251) was a

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

commander in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

Career

He was a commander of the

kheshig Kheshig ( Mongolian: Khishig, Keshik, Khishigten for "favored", "blessed") were the imperial guard for Mongol royalty in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan and his wife Börte. Their primary purpose was to act as bodyguard ...

during reign of Ögedei. Following the election of Güyük in 1246, he replaced Baiju, Batu's protégé. He departed from Mongolia in September 1247 and arrived in Talas in April 1248, which coincided with Güyük's death. Upon arrival in Khorasan, he stationed in

Badghis Bādghīs ( Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northwest of the country, on the border with Turkmenistan. It is considered to be one of the country's most underdeveloped provinces, with the highest pover ...

region. Supposedly possessed of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

sympathies like the khan, Eljigidei was ordered to advance into Syria, and planned an advance on

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

. This advance was, ideally, to be conducted in alliance with Louis IX of France, in concert with the Seventh Crusade. However, Güyük's sudden death made Eljigidei postpone operations until after the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

. Still, Eljigidei wrote a letter from his camp in Khorasan. Apparently Eljigidei never managed to hold real command but only on paper. After the election of Möngke, however, Eljigidei and his two sons were implicated in an aborted conspiracy to declare the election invalid. Though supposedly innocent, Eljigidei was arrested and put to death as well in winter of 1251 or 1252. Baiju was subsequently returned to command in Persia.

References

1250s deaths 13th-century Mongolian people Year of birth unknown 13th-century Iranian people Mongol Empire people {{iran-mil-bio-stub Generals of the Mongol Empire