Maurya Empire, 322–185 BCE

Autocracy · Empire · South Asia · Classical Antiquity era

Chandragupta displaced the Nanda dynasty and pushed Seleucid forces back from the Indus; after the Kalinga campaign Ashoka issued rock and pillar edicts promoting dhamma and dispatched inspectors, and the empire fragmented within fifty years of his death.

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.

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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 Power80
Media Control34
Repression54
Nationalism44
Militarization78
Economic Stress50
External Conflict66
Cult of Personality68
Elite Fragmentation56
Institutions62
Social Polarization46
Corruption & Patrimonialism50
Ideological Mobilization55
External Sovereignty100

Economy & society

GDP per capita$600 (intl-$)
Population50.0M people
Share of world population33%
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).

  1. Han Dynasty, 206 BCE–220 CE – similarity 98/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
  2. Persian Empire, 550–330 BCE – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
  3. Byzantium, 527–565 – similarity 90/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
  4. Mughal Empire, 1556–1605 – similarity 89/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
  5. Chola Empire, 985–1070 CE – similarity 89/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Imperial Decline, Regime Stabilization
  6. Ottoman Empire, 1520–1566 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
  7. Abbasid Caliphate, 786–833 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Militarization, External Expansion, Great-Power Rivalry, Regime Stabilization
  8. 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.