Empires formed by nomadic peoples of Inner Asia in premodern times loom large in Eurasian history, both in terms of their influence on settled societies and for the broader geopolitical and cultural changes that they engendered. Historians have looked in the past at climate variability as a possible contributing, or even essential, factor in the rise and fall of such imperial formations. However, only with the development of historical climatology and the availability of reliable climatic reconstructions specifically relevant to the steppe regions where such empires originated has it become possible to formulate more precise hypotheses regarding climatic impacts on economic, political or social processes. This essay discusses the relationship between climate and steppe empires by presenting several case studies, including the Eastern Türk (603-630 CE), Uyghur (744-840 CE), and Mongol (c. 1206-1368) empires. The analysis of climatic phenomena affecting the rise, expansion, and fall of these formations serves to illustrate the potential uses of climate reconstructions and environmental data in the study of political, economic, social, and military dynamics. In addition to looking at the steppe region itself (chiefly Mongolia), the study focuses on specific vulnerabilities connected with the Mongols’ expansion in regions with environmental conditions unfamiliar to them. While this is an early and still preliminary study, it aims to lay the groundwork for future investigations and to offer insights into the use of paleoclimatic data for historical research. It must also be said that the hypotheses and results reported in the studies analyzed here have themselves engendered considerable discussion and controversy. Additional publications written in response or in parallel to the papers presented here are not discussed in detail because such discussions would require a much larger space, considering that each study covers a separate historical context, but are nonetheless noted for further reading.