History:List of largest empires in India

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This is a historical list of the largest empires in India with an area covering more than 1 million square kilometers. An empire involves the extension of a state's sovereignty over external territories. The values given here should generally be interpreted as being only indicative, and not as determining a precise ranking. The calculation of the land area of a particular empire is controversial. Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate.

Empire Approximate
maximum extent
(Area in km²)
Size as
percentage of area of
Republic of India
Approximate
date of
maximum extent
Estimate by
British Raj 4,574,000 139% 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.)[1]
Republic of India (for comparison) 3,287,263 100% - Government of India[2]
Delhi Sultanate 3,200,000 97%
Maratha Empire 2,500,000 76% 1760 Peter Turchin et al.[3]
Kushan Empire 2,000,000–2,500,000 61%–76% 200 Peter Turchin et al. (low)[3]
Rein Taagepera (high)[4]
Gupta Empire 1,700,000–3,500,000 52%–106% 440 or 400 Rein Taagepera (low)[4]
Peter Turchin et al. (high)[3]
Empire of Harsha 1,000,000 30%

See also

  • List of largest empires

References

  1. (in en-US) Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Independence, Declaration of" to "Indo-. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40096?msg=welcome_stranger. 
  2. "India: Profile". National Portal of India. http://india.gov.in/india-glance/profile. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Peter_2006
  4. 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Taagepera132