Contrary to popular belief, Genghis Khan did not conquer all the areas ultimately part of the Mongol Empire. At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan. The empire's expansion continued for a generation or more after Genghis's death in 1227. Under Genghis's successor Ögedei Khan the speed of expansion reached its peak. Mongol armies pushed into Persia, finished off the Western Xia and the remnants of the Khwarezmids, and came into conflict with the imperial Song dynasty of China, starting a war that lasted until 1279 and that concluded with the Mongols gaining control of all of China. They also pushed further into Russia and eastern Europe.