-- Schwartzberg Atlas -- Digital South Asia Library

Schwartzberg Atlas, v. , p. 256.

Table 14.1. Distribution of Regional Power Configurations in the Indian Subcontinent, by 500-Year Periods, from 500 B.C. to A.D. 1976.

(Figures in a columns are numbers of decades; those in b columns are percentages.)

500B.C.–1B.C. A.D. 1–A.D. 500 A.D. 501–1000 A.D. 1001–1500 A.D. 1501–1976¹Power Configurations a b a b a b a b a b One pan-Indian power plus three supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4.2 One pan-Indian power plus two supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4.2 One pan-Indian power plus one supra-regional power 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 9 18.8 One pan-Indian power only 10 20 12 24 2 4 3 6 21 43.8 Five supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2.1 Four supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2 4.2 Three supra-regional powers 0 0 2 4 1 2 8 16 2 4.2 Two supra-regional powers 1 2 14 28 25 50 18 36 6 12.5 One supra-regional power 29 58 14 28 17 34 18 36 3 6.2 No supra-regional or pan-Indian powers 10 20 8 16 4 8 0 0 0 0 Totals 50 100 50 100 50 100 50 100 48 100

1 For counting decades 1976 is rounded off to 1980. sideration, expressed as a percentage of the total study area, was plotted against time for those decades during which it held major power status. To prepare such graphs, the territorial extent of each state at its apogee, as shown on plates XIV.1–5, was first plotted and measured on a gridded work map, then expressed as a per- centage of the total area of the Indian subcontinent.¹¹ But, where there were fairly clear historical grounds for believing that not all of the territory included within the maximum extent of the state was held at any single time, allowance was made for that likelihood.¹² With our work maps in view we next estimated, in the light of our notes on territorial gains and losses over particular periods (many of which appear on the maps of section III–VIII), the area of those states that enjoyed major power status for more than a single decade at one or more points in time in addition to the time of its territorial apogee. We then plotted the several estimated areas against time on graph paper as y and x coordinates respectively and drew smooth curves to connect the points so plotted. Figure 14.5, finally, is the combi- nation of portions of thirty-nine of our resultant curves, showing the period when each of that number of powers was the largest in the subcontinent.

Figure 14.6, which shows the generalized tendencies toward particular regional power configurations in the Indian subcontinent from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1976, is derived principally from table 14.1, on which the data of figure 14.4 are aggre- gated by 500-year periods.¹³ The period 1000–500 B.C., however, most of which is not represented on that table, is included in the graph in order to permit us to extrapolate the curves thereon backward in time to a period for which we can rea- sonably assume that no pan-Indian, or even supra-regional, powers existed.

The data on which figure 14.7 is based are those of table 14.2, aggregated by major periods of Indian history.¹⁴ While the intention here is to show the degree to which those admittedly arbitrary periods may be characterized by different types of regional power configurations, not to derive a generalized secular trend, the similarity of pattern between figures 14.1 and 14.6 is at once obvious.

Table 14.3 indicates the distribution of the total chorochronic volume of the In- dian subcontinent from 560 B.C. to A.D. 1976, by periods, for states in particular size ranges. To derive the CCV of each of the supra-regional and pan-Indian states of South Asia during the period (s) when they enjoyed the status (es) indicated, we resorted to a geometric surrogate for the algebraic formula presented in note 8. This involved determining the area under the curves for the aforementioned work graphs made for each major power, on which the area of particular states was plotted against time. The process employed was one of simple summation by dec- ade.¹⁵ After thus deriving the relevant CCV of each supra-regional and each pan- Indian power in each of the major historical periods as well as for the entire period from 560 B.C. to A.D. 1976, the CCVs were aggregated, by period, at the supra- regional and pan-Indian levels and calculated as percentages of the total CCV of the period. For determining the aggregate residual CCVs of all political entities smaller than supra-regional powers we simply subtracted the combined CCVs of supra-regional and pan-Indian states from the known totals for each major period.

Figure 14.8 translates the data of table 14.3 into graphic form. It is intended to show the degree to which the characterization of periods by states of different size ranges contrasts with the image one might form if one were to consider only the data on regional power configurations presented in figures 14.6 and 14.7. Of the three graphs, it is considered historically the most representative.

Figure 14.9 presents, in graphic and numerical form, a set of data relating to the mean chorochronic dimensions of major Indian powers, supra-regional and pan- Indian combined, for each of the major periods of Indian history and for the entire time span from 560 B.C. to A.D. 1947. Specifically, it shows the mean duration of such powers (i.e., the period when they enjoyed major power status, which typi- cally is considerably less than their total duration as states), the mean area of such powers (again, during the period when they were classified as major powers), and their mean chorochronic volume, which is the product of their mean duration and

Table 14.2. Distribution of Regional Power Configurations in the Indian Subcontinent, by Major Historical Periods, from c. 560 B.C. to A.D. 1976.

(Figures in a columns are numbers of decades;¹ those in b columns are percentages.)

Ancient Period c. 560B.C.–A.D. 647 Early Medieval PeriodA.D. 647–1206 Sultanate PeriodA.D. 1206–1526 Mughal PeriodA.D. 1526–1765 Modern PeriodA.D. 1765–1976 All Periods c. 560B.C.–A.D. 1976Power Configurations a b a b a b a b a b a b One pan-Indian power plus three supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9.5 2 0.8 One pan-Indian power plus two supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8.3 0 0 2 0.8 One pan-Indian power plus one supra-regional power 0 0 1 1.8 0 0 7 29.2 2 9.5 10 3.9 One pan-Indian power only 22 18.2 2 3.6 3 9.4 7 29.2 14 66.7 48 18.9 Five supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 1 3.1 0 0 1 4.8 2 0.8 Four supra-regional powers 0 0 0 0 2 6.3 0 0 2 9.5 4 1.6 Three supra-regional powers 2 1.7 7 12.5 2 6.3 2 8.3 0 0 13 5.1 Two supra-regional powers 22 18.2 23 41.1 16 50.0 3 12.5 0 0 64 25.2 One supra-regional power 49 40.5 21 37.5 8 25.0 3 12.5 0 0 81 31.9 No supra-regional or pan-Indian power 26 21.5 2 3.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 11.0 Totals 121 100 56 100 32 100 24 100 21 100 254 100

1 For counting decades the dates 647, 1206, 1526, 1765, and 1976 are rounded off to 650, 1210, 1530, 1770, and 1980.

Back to Schwartzberg Atlas | Back to the DSAL Page

This page was last generated on Friday 22 January 2021 at 19:29 by dsal@uchicago.edu

The URL of this page is: https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html