The first campaigns in North Asia involved the rise of Genghis Khan in the first decade of the 13th century and the early territorial expansion of his empire into South Central and southern Western Siberia.
This early period of expansion gained the Mongol Empire access to trade and tribute all the way north to the Arctic Ocean in certain areas.
In 1207, he sent his eldest son Jochi to conquer the Siberian "Forest People", namely the Uriankhai, the Oirats, the Barga, the Khakas, the Buryats, the Tuvans, the Khori-Tumed [ru], Ursut, Qabqanas, Tubas, Kem-Kemjuit, the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate, and others.
[10][11] In 1217, the Khori-Tumed, perhaps angered by the presence of Jochi's armies moving westward, revolted against Mongol authority, led by Botoqui Tarqun, the widow of the chieftain Darduqul-Soqor.
[15] Boroqul, a trusted companion and mentor from Genghis Khan's childhood, led an expedition against the rebellion, despite having a strong premonition of his impending death if he went.
[11] At some point likely between 1209 and 1219, most likely 1217 or 1218, General Subutai was dispatched to deal with these survivors and he, Jebe, and Tuqachar, likely joined in force with a Uyghur army, met the Merkit at the Chem River in Central Asia, in what is present-day western Kazakhstan, and destroyed them.
[11][23][24] Qudu, the surviving son of the late Toqto'a Beki (who was killed at the Battle of the Irtysh), managed to flee with some of the Qanling to what is now northern Kazakhstan.
[11] In 1236, the westward expansion of Batu Khan, the son of Jochi, smashed into the Kipchaks and incorporated their lands and other portions of Western Siberia into his appanage, which became known as the Golden Horde.
[22][25] According to Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, after the conquest of Volga Bulgaria and invasion of Hungary the Mongols campaigned northward against the "Parrosites" (Permiaks) and Samoyeds (Nenets) until they reached the Arctic Ocean.
[27] Pow also argues that Russian folklore and the accounts of Marco Polo suggest control over, or at least successful expeditions into, up as far north as the Arctic Ocean.
[28] Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari also claimed that the Golden Horde controlled from along the Irtysh to the Yugra people - with Islamic traders visiting those domains.
While Genghis Khan headed southward, his general Jebe travelled even further east into Manchuria and captured Mukden (present-day Shenyang).
[46] For the Mongols, subjugating this region gained them tribute, in particular the sable furs from the lower Amur and Sakhalin that were especially favored by the Mongol-Chinese upper class at the time.
[50] With the formation of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China, an expedition commanded by Taxiala was launched in 1272 and 1273 but was stymied by raging water in the Strait of Tartary.
[53] The next record of an invasion on the Ainu was in 1282, when Jurchens under Mongol rule were sent to aid the war effort by making boats to ship supplies across the sea.
[54] The Mongol armies apparently reached the southern tip of Sakhalin, since ramparts of a Mongol-Chinese fort dated to the 13th century were discovered at Cape Crillon.