Table 14.3. Distribution of Chorochronic Volume of the Indian Subcontinent for the Time Span c. 560 B.C.–A.D. 1976,
by Periods, for States in Specified Size Ranges.
(Figures in a columns are numbers of chorochronic units; those in b columns are percentages.)
Ancient Period c. 560 B.C.–A.D.647 Early Medieval Period A.D. 647–1206 Sultanate Period A.D. 1206–1526 Mughal PeriodA.D. 1526–1765 Modern Period A.D. 1765–1976 All Periods c. 560 B.C.–A.D. 1976
Size Range of States a b a b a b a b a b a b
Pan-Indian Powers 182 12.2 15 2.1 24 6.2 134 45.4 197 76.2 552 17.7
Supra-Regional Powers 225 15.1 198 28.8 119 30.1 45 15.4 34 13.1 621 19.9
All Smaller Political Entities 1082 72.7 475 69.0 251 63.7 116 39.2 28 10.7 1952 62.5
Totals1 1489 100 688 100 394 100 295 100 259 100 3125 100
1 Totals in a columns do not always match those of figure 14.2 because of rounding to the nearest decade.
their mean area.16 The averages presented in figure 14.9 must, of course, be inter-
preted with caution. For the Ancient Period in particular the means combine data
for two large and enduring powers, the Mauryas and the Guptas, with those for a
considerable number of smaller and less durable states. Nevertheless, we feel that
the data reveal certain regularities that will be helpful in the analysis that follows.
GENERAL ANALYSIS
We begin our analysis of the graphic and tabular data of this section with an
attempt to draw reasonable inferences with respect to the changing power configu-
rations for the Indian subcontinent as a whole. Subsequently we shall examine the
data on a regional basis.
Let us consider figures 14.4–7 as a group. What is perhaps most striking in the
patterns they manifest is the changing relative importance of pan-Indian powers.
In the Ancient Period of South Asian history such powers, specifically the Mauryan
and the Guptan Empires, were fairly prominent; in the Early Medieval and Sul-
tanate Periods they were almost totally absent; the Mughal Period was marked by
a striking resurgence of such states, under Mughal and Maratha rule; and in the
Modern Period they were overwhelmingly the dominant form, both during the
period of the British Indian Empire and in the post-independence decades. What
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