The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Mongolyn Ezent Güren ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Монголын эзэнт гүрэн; also ("Horde") in Russian chronicles) existed during the 13th and 14th centuries and was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in the steppes of Central Asia, the Mongol Empire eventually stretched from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, extending northwards into Siberia, eastwards and southwards into the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, and the Iranian plateau, and westwards as far as the Levant and Arabia.