Butigeidis (Budzikid) was the Grand DukeThe title Grand Duke (in Latin, Magnus Dux; in Spanish, Gran Duque; in Russian, Великий князь; in German, Großherzog, Italian Gran Duca; in French, Grand-duc; in Portuguese, Grão-duque; in Finnish, Suurherttua; in Polish, Wielki Książę; in Hungarian, nagyherceg;in Swedish, Storhertig; in Dutch, Groothertog; in Danish, Storhertug, in Lithuanian, Didysis Kunigaikštis) used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns, is of a protocolary rank ...Grand Duke of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania (, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje, Ruskaje, Żamojckaje, , , , ) was an Eastern and Central European state of the 12th T. Baranauskas. Lietuvos valstybės ištakos. Vilnius, 2000 /13th century until the 18th century. Founded ...Lithuania from 1285 to 1291. He is the first known and undisputed member of the GediminidsThe Gediminids (Lithuanian: Gediminaičiai, singular: Gediminaitis) were a dynasty of monarchs of the medieval Lithuania that reigned from the 13th to the 16th century. One branch of this dynasty, known as the family of Jagiellons, reigned also in Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. Several other branches ranked among the leading aristocratic ...Gediminids.

He started his rule when the Livonian OrderThe Livonian Brothers of the Sword (, ), was a military order organized in 1202 by Albert of Buxhoeveden and composed of German "warrior monks". Their rule was primarily based on that of the Knights Templar. They were also known as the Livonian Order, Christ Knights, Sword Brethren, and The Militia of Christ of Livonia. The Brothers were incorporated to Teutonic Knights in 1236.Livonian Order and the Teutonic KnightsThe Teutonic Knights or Teutonic Order (Latin: Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum, "Order of the German House of St. Mary in Jerusalem", German: Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem or - more common - Deutscher Orden) is a German based ...Teutonic Knights were finalizing their conquest of the Baltic tribesThe Balts or Baltic peoples (; ; Latgalian: bolti), defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between lower Vistula and upper Daugava and Dnieper rivers on the southeast shore of the Baltic Sea. The number of lakes and swamps in this area isolated the Balts, and as a result of this isolation the Baltic languages retain a number of conservative or archaic features. Among the Baltic peoples are modern Lithuanians, ...Baltic tribes. In 1289, leading about 8,000 troops, Butigeidis attacked SambiaSambia or Samland is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea.Sambia. In 1289 the Teutonic Knights built a castle in present-day SovetskSovetsk, prior to 1945 known by its German name Tilsit (; ), is a town now in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River at . Population: 43,278 (2004 est.); 43,224 (2002 Census); 41,881 (1989 Census).Sovetsk (Tilsit) and their raids intensified. Lithuanians were forced to abandon Koklainiai Castle located on the other bank of the river. Butigeidis was the first to build strong castles along the Neman RiverNemunas, Neman or Niemen (; ; Lithuanian: '; ; ; ) is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. The 14th largest river in Europe, the largest in Lithuania and the 3rd largest in Belarus, is navigable for most of its length of over 900km. The Neman River basin was formed ...Neman River. The castle system was further developed after his death and helped to resist the raids until the second half of the 14th century.

Butigeidis transferred VaŭkavyskVaŭkavysk (, , , ) is a town in the Hrodna Province of Belarus. It is the center of Vaŭkavysk district. The population is near 43,000. Vaŭkavysk is an old town, first mentioned as a possession of the Rurikid princes of Hrodna in the 12th century. Archaeologists ...Vaŭkavysk to Halych-VolhyniaThe Halych-Volhynian Kingdom (Ruthenian: , , , , , ), or Halych-Volodymyr, was a state in Ruthenia (Rus' ) which succeeded Kievan Rus′ in the late 12th century and existed till the midle of the 14th century. It extended between the rivers San and Wieprz in what is now south-eastern Poland in the west, and the Pripet Marshes (now in Belarus) and upper Southern Bug in modern-day Ukraine ...Halych-Volhynia in exchange for peace. He died in 1290 or 1292, and his brother ButvydasButvydas or Pukuveras (also known as Боудивидъ, Liutauras, Pukuwer or Pucuwerus, died in 1295) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1292 to 1295. His influence was strong during his brother Butigeidis' reign. This led some historians to believe, that they were co-rulers, much like the grandsons Algirdas and Kęstutis. During his short reign Butvydas tried to defend the duchy against the Teutonic ...Butvydas (also known as Pukuveras) inherited the crown.