Prior to the rise of the West and European seaborne empires, the world witnessed the Mongolian Empire's meteoric rise in the thirteenth century. At its apex, the Central Asian empire stretched its territories across Eurasia to form the largest contiguous land empire in history. What was its immediate and long-term influence? Our study explores the geographic extent to which the Mongols spread their territories and their subsequent impact on local development. We use historical climatic anomalies as exogenous contingencies that could drive their expansion and identify which regions were more likely to have been invaded by the Mongols. Our main findings suggest that the Mongols' territorial consolidation encouraged urbanization by providing a safe overland passage for traders, but their conquests and urbicides across Eurasia negatively impacted local development over the subsequent centuries.