Maurya Empire, 322–185 BCE
Autocracy · Empire · South Asia · Classical Antiquity era
A centralized empire with a strong bureaucracy, expansion, and subsequent decline.
Chandragupta’s conquests unified the Ganges basin under a centralized fiscal-military administration described in the Arthashastra tradition. After the Kalinga war, Ashoka promoted dhamma through edicts and imperial infrastructure. Later rulers lost provinces to secession and invasion. A commander’s coup ended the dynasty around 185 BCE.
Open Maurya Empire 322–185 BCE in the interactive 3D atlas →
Dominant patterns
- Militarization
- External Expansion
- Great-Power Rivalry
- Imperial Decline
- Regime Stabilization
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 80 |
| Media Control | 34 |
| Repression | 54 |
| Nationalism | 44 |
| Militarization | 78 |
| Economic Stress | 50 |
| External Conflict | 66 |
| Cult of Personality | 68 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 56 |
| Institutions | 62 |
| Social Polarization | 46 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 50 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 55 |
| External Sovereignty | 100 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $600 (intl-$) |
| Population | 50.0M people |
| Share of world population | 33% |
| Territory | ~3.4M km² |
| Capital population | ~200k |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Maurya Empire 322–185 BCE, by similarity score (0–100).
- Han Dynasty, 206 BCE–220 CE – similarity 98/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
- Persian Empire, 550–330 BCE – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
- Byzantium, 527–565 – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
- Mughal Empire, 1556–1605 – similarity 89/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- Chola Empire, 985–1070 CE – similarity 89/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
- Ottoman Empire, 1520–1566 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- Abbasid Caliphate, 786–833 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
- Nanda Empire, 450–345 BCE – similarity 86/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Imperial Decline
What followed
- Unification of the subcontinent.
- Disintegration after Ashoka.