By 1277 , at least one Burmese vassal state named " Gold Teeth " ( modern Yingjiang ) had submitted to the Mongols . Like in 1272 , the Burmese government responded by sending an army to reclaim the rebellious state ; but unlike in 1272 , the Mongols had posted a sizable garrison there . Though it was ultimately under Mongol command , many of the officers and most of the soldiers of the garrison were Turkic @-@ speaking peoples or people from the further west : Turks from Samarkand , Bukhara , Merv and Nishapur , but also captive soldiers from the Persian Khwarazmid empire , the Kipchaks , and even Bulgars from the lower Volga .