List of largest empires in India
This is a historical list of the largest empires in India with an area covering more than 1 million square kilometres. 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. In general, the list centres on the side of including any land area that was explored and explicitly claimed, even if the areas were populated very sparsely or not at all.
| Empire | Approximate maximum extent | Size as percentage of area of Republic of India | Approximate date of maximum extent | Estimate by |
| Maurya Empire | 5,000,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| British Raj | 1911 | Encyclopædia Britannica | ||
| Mughal Empire | 4,000,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| Gupta Empire | 3,500,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| Republic of India | 3,287,263 | - | Government of India | |
| Delhi Sultanate | 3,200,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| Maratha Empire | 2,500,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| Kushan Empire | 2,000,000 | Peter Turchin et al. | ||
| Empire of Harsha | 1,000,000 | Peter Turchin et al. |