Mughal Empire, 1658–1707 CE

Autocracy · Empire · South Asia · Age of Absolutism era

The Mughal empire at its greatest extent under Aurangzeb, overstretched by endless war in the Deccan and mounting fiscal and religious strain.

Under Aurangzeb the Mughal empire reached its greatest territorial extent but exhausted itself in decades of costly warfare in the Deccan against the Marathas and others. Heavier taxation, the reimposition of the jizya and religious controversies strained the composite empire’s cohesion. After his death in 1707 central authority fragmented rapidly among governors, successor states and rising regional powers.

Open Mughal Empire 1658–1707 CE in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • External Expansion
  • Militarization
  • Imperial Decline
  • Succession Crisis
  • Revolutionary Risk

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power60
Media Control50
Repression60
Nationalism48
Militarization80
Economic Stress55
External Conflict82
Cult of Personality62
Elite Fragmentation62
Institutions48
Social Polarization60
Corruption & Patrimonialism55
Ideological Mobilization65
External Sovereignty92

Economy & society

GDP per capita$750 (intl-$)
Population150.0M people
Share of world population23%
Territory~4.0M km²
Capital population~400k

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Mughal Empire 1658–1707 CE, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. Arab Caliphate, 632–750 – similarity 93/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
  2. Delhi Sultanate, 1206–1290 CE – similarity 91/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis
  3. Ghaznavid Empire, 998–1040 CE – similarity 89/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis
  4. Ottoman Empire, 1808–1839 – similarity 89/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis
  5. Roman Empire, 324–361 CE – similarity 88/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis
  6. Pontus, 120–63 BCE – similarity 86/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis
  7. Russia, 1905–1917 – similarity 85/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
  8. Ayyubid Sultanate, 1171–1250 CE – similarity 85/100 · shared: External Expansion, Militarization, Imperial Decline, Succession Crisis

What followed

  • The empire’s maximum territorial reach.
  • Overextension preceding rapid post-1707 fragmentation.