Niémen
He started his rule when the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights were finalizing their conquest of the Baltic tribes. In 1289, leading about 8,000 troops, Butigeidis attacked Sambia. In 1289 the Teutonic Knights built a castle in Tilsit and their raids intensified. Lithuanians were forced to abandon located on the other bank of the Neman River. Butigeidis was the first to build strong castles along the 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.