Integrating an Acquired Company – Lessons From an Indian Emperor Called Akbar
Akbar was a really powerful king.
He had an empire that extended from the mountains of Hindu-Kush to the Bay of Bengal. As an emperor he had the sheer might to crush his opponents, to smash their kingdom into rubble. Like they do ‘a hostile’ (takeover) these days.
Akbar, however, preferred to integrate. He married into the Rajputs , his fiercest & most tenacious opponents. His favoured queen was a Rajput queen Jodhabai. He gave Rajputs a lot of respect, important jobs in the army and bestowed on them a lot of honours.
It was a wise thing to do. While Akbar was an uncontested Emperor, the Rajputs remained kings of their small kingdoms. So while Akbar had a vast empire he saved a lot of his time from martial pursuits. Instead he worked on pursuits of a different kind like ideating about a new religion.
