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How did the Mongol invasion affect the cities Ibn Battuta saw in Central Asia?

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Engraving of Ibn Battuta in Egypt, standing on a decorated stone block with another man, overlooking ancient Egyptian columns and palm trees in the background. — Ibn Battuta Ibn Baṭṭūṭah (right) with an Egyptian man in Egypt.

When Ibn Battuta traveled through Central Asia, he visited ancient cities such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Balkh. In his accounts, he noted that these urban centers were still visibly marked by the destruction caused by the Mongol invasion.3

While the initial Mongol incursions were highly destructive to many cities and polities across the region, the long-term impact of the Mongol Empire also fostered a period of relative stability known as the Pax Mongolica. This era facilitated significant commercial and cultural exchange across Eurasia, though the physical scars of the earlier conquests remained evident in the cities Ibn Battuta observed during his travels.123