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Three Merkits ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th century–1200 | |||||||
 Mongol Empire c.1207 | |||||||
| Status | Nomadicconfederation | ||||||
| Capital | Not specified | ||||||
| Religion | Shamanism,Syriac Christianity | ||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||
| Chieftain | |||||||
• ? - 1200 | Toqto'a Beki[note 1] | ||||||
| Historical era | Post-classical history | ||||||
• Established | 11th century | ||||||
• Disestablished | 1200 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of | Mongolia,Buryatia | ||||||
TheMerkit (/ˈmɜːrkɪt/;Mongolian:[ˈmircɪt];lit. 'Wise Ones') was one of the five majortribal confederations ofMongol[2][3][4][5] orTurkic origin[6][7][note 2] in the 12th-centuryMongolian Plateau.
The Merkits lived in the basins of theSelenga and lowerOrkhon River (modern southBuryatia,Bulgan Province andSelenge Province).[9] After a struggle of over 20 years, they were defeated in 1200 byGenghis Khan and their lands were incorporated into theMongol Empire.
The wordMerkit (Merged) with a hard "g" is a plural form derived from theMongolian wordmergen (мэргэн), which means both "wise" and "skillful marksperson", e.g. adept in the use of bow and arrow. The word is also used in many phrases in which it connotes magic, oracles, divination, augury, or religious power. Mongolian language has no clear morphological or grammatical distinction between nouns and adjectives, somergen may mean "a sage" as much as "wise" or mean "skillful" just as much as "a master".Merged becomes plural as in "wise ones" or "skillful markspeople". In the general sense,mergen usually denotes someone who is skillful and wise in their affairs.[citation needed]
The Merkits were a confederation of three tribes, inhabiting the basin of the Selenga and Orkhon Rivers.
The Merkits established contact with theMongol Confederation andKeraites. They were related toNaimans,Khitans,[10]Telengits andKirghiz.[11]
According toRashid al-Din Hamadani, the Merkits were a branch of the Mongols.[12] Western European authors of the 13th century mention the Merkits. They believed that they shared a similar appearance and spoke the same language with other Mongol tribes.[13]
Temüjin's motherHoelun, originally from theOlkhonud, had been engaged to the Merkit chief Yehe Chiledu. She was abducted by Temüjin's fatherYesugei, while being escorted home by Yehe Chiledu.
In turn, Temüjin's new wifeBörte was kidnapped by Merkit raiders from their campsite by the Onon river around 1181 and given to one of their warriors the brother of Yehe Chiledu named Chilger-Bökö. Temüjin, supported by his brother (not blood-related)Jamukha and hiskhan etseg ('khan father')Toghrul of theKeraites, attacked the Merkit and rescued Börte within the year. The Merkits were dispersed after this attack. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son namedJochi. Temüjin accepted Jochi as his eldest son, but the question lingered throughout Jochi's life of whether he was the son of Genghis Khan or Chilger-Bökö. These incidents caused a strong animosity between Temüjin's family and the Merkits. From 1191 to 1207, Temujin fought the Merkits five times.
By the time he had united the otherMongol tribes and received the titleGenghis Khan in 1206, the Merkits seem to have disappeared as an ethnic group. Those who survived were absorbed by other Mongol (Oirats,[14]Buryats,[15]Khalkhas[16]) and Turkic tribes (Kazakhs,Kyrgyzes) and others who fled to theKipchaks mixed with them. In 1215–1218,Jochi andSubutai crushed the remnants of them under their former leader Toghta Beki's family. The Mongols clashed with theKankalis or the Kipchaks because they had sheltered the Merkit.
Genghis Khan had a Merkitkhatun (queen) named Khulan. She died while Mongol forcesbesieged Ryazan in 1236.
A few Merkits achieved prominent positions among the Mongols.Great KhanGuyuk's beloved khatunOghul Qaimish, who was a regent from 1248 to 1251, was a Merkit woman. The traditionalistBayan and his nephewToqto'a served asgrand chancellors of theYuan dynasty.
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