He was a commander of the
Kheshig during reign of
Ögedei, the second ruler of the
Mongol Empire and the third son of
Genghis Khan. 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 region. Supposedly possessed of
Christian sympathies like the khan, Eljigidei was ordered to advance into
Syria, and planned an advance on
Baghdad. 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. Still, Eljigidei wrote a letter from his camp in Khorasan. 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 ==