View source for Merkit

{{short description|12th-century tribal confederation of the Mongolian Plateau}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2011}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ}}
| conventional_long_name = Three Merkits
| common_name            = Merkit|
| era                    = [[Post-classical history]]
| status                 = [[Nomad]]ic [[confederation]]
| empire                 = 
| status_text            = 
| today                  = [[Mongolia]], [[Buryatia]]
| year_start             = 11th century
| year_end               = 1200|
| event_start            = 
| date_start             = 
| event1                 = 
| date_event1            = 
| event_end              = 
| date_end               = |
| p1                     = 
| image_p1               = 
| p2                     = 
| image_p2               = 
| p3                     = 
| flag_p3                = 
| s1                     = Khamag Mongol
| flag_s1                = |
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = 
| image_map              = Mongol Empire c.1207.png
| caption                = 
| flag_type              = 
| symbol                 = 
| symbol_type            = 
| image_map_caption      = [[Mongol Empire]] c.1207|
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = |
| capital                = ''Not specified''
| common_languages       = |
| religion               = [[Shamanism]], [[Syriac Christianity]]
| government_type        = [[Elective monarchy]]
| title_leader           = [[Tribal chief|Chieftain]]
| leader1                = Toqto'a Beki{{NoteTag|Toqto'a Beki was the principal chieftain of the Uduyid Merkits. His younger brothers included Yehe Chiledu, who had originally been engaged to [[Hö'elün]], the mother of [[Temüjin]] (Genghis Khan), before [[Yesugei]] married her under unclear circumstances; and Chilger-Bökö, a subordinate chieftain known for kidnapping Temüjin's wife [[Börte]] and possibly raping her, which may have led to questions over the paternity of Genghis Khan's eldest son [[Jochi]].{{sfn|Atwood|2004}}}}
| year_leader1           = ? - 1200
| leader2                = 
| year_leader2           = 
| leader3                = 
| year_leader3           = 
| leader4                = 
| year_leader4           = 
| leader5                = 
| year_leader5           = |
| currency               = 
| legislature            = 
| house1                 = 
| house2                 = |
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| stat_year2             = 
| stat_pop2              = 
| stat_year3             = 
| stat_pop3              = 
| stat_area3             = |
| footnotes              = 
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
}}
{{History of Mongolia}}

The '''Merkit''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜr|k|ɪ|t}}; {{IPA|mn|ˈmircɪt|lang}}; {{lit|Wise Ones}}) was one of the five major [[Confederation|tribal confederations]] of [[Mongol]]<ref name=":MPR">[https://books.google.com/books?id=QvEDAQAAIAAJ&q=The+most+important+Mongolian+tribes+at+that+time+were+the+Khamag+Mongols%2C+the+Jalairs%2C+Taichiuts%2C+Keraits%2C+Merkits%2C+Naimans%2C+etc. History of the Mongolian People's Republic. — Nauka Pub. House, Central Dept. of Oriental Literature, 1973. — p.&nbsp;99.]</ref><ref name=":Tayler">[https://archive.org/details/murderersinmauso00tayl <!-- quote=Merkit a rival Mongol tribe. --> Jeffrey Tayler. Murderers in Mausoleums: Riding the Back Roads of Empire Between Moscow and Beijing.] — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. — p.&nbsp;1. — {{ISBN|9780547523828}}.</ref><ref name=":Spuler">[https://books.google.com/books?id=q8oUAAAAIAAJ&q=Merkit+Mongol+tribe Bertold Spuler. The Muslim world: a historical survey. — Brill Archive, 1969. — p.&nbsp;118.]</ref><ref name=":Gouchinova">[https://books.google.com/books?id=lVNz1wjFVxsC&q=Mongolian+tribes+Merkits%2C+Kereits Elza-Bair Mataskovna Gouchinova. The Kalmyks.] — Routledge, 2013. — p.&nbsp;10. — {{ISBN|9781135778873}}.</ref> or [[Turkic peoples|Turkic origin]]<ref>''Soucek, Svat''. A History of Inner Asia. — Cambridge University Press, 2000. — p.&nbsp;104. — {{ISBN|978-0521657044}}.</ref><ref>Гурулёв С. А. Реки Байкала: Происхождение названий. – Иркутск: Восточно-Сибирское книжное издательство, 1989 – 122 с. ISBN 5-7424-0286-4</ref>{{NoteTag|They were always counted as a part of the Mongols within the Mongol Empire, however, some scholars believe that they were Turkic people.<ref>Christopher P. Atwood – Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire {{ISBN|9780816046713}}, Facts on File, Inc. 2004.</ref>}} in the 12th-century [[Mongolian Plateau]].

The Merkits lived in the basins of the [[Selenga River|Selenga]] and lower [[Orkhon River]] (modern south [[Buryatia]], [[Bulgan Province]] and [[Selenge Province]]).<ref name="HM">History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003</ref> After a struggle of over 20 years, they were defeated in 1200 by [[Genghis Khan]] and their lands were incorporated into the [[Mongol Empire]].

== Etymology ==
The word ''Merkit'' (''Merged'') with a hard "g" is a plural form derived from the [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] word ''mergen'' (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, so ''mergen'' 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|date=February 2021}}

== Three Merkits ==
The Merkits were a confederation of three tribes, inhabiting the basin of the Selenga and Orkhon Rivers.
* The Uduyid Merkits lived in Buur-kheer, near the lower Orkhon River;
* The Uvas Merkits lived in Tar, between the Orkhon and Selenge Rivers;
* The Khaad Merkits ("Kings" Merkits) lived in Kharaji-kheer, on the Selenge River.

== Relations ==
The Merkits established contact with the [[Khamag Mongol|Mongol Confederation]] and [[Keraites]]. They were related to [[Naimans]], [[Khitan people|Khitans]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Weatherford |first=Jack |title=Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World |publisher=Crown/Archetype |year=2005 |page=12 |isbn=978-0-307-23781-1}}</ref> [[Telengits]] and [[Kyrgyz people|Kirghiz]].<ref>Акеров Т. А. Великий Кыргызский каганат: Роль этнополитических факторов в консолидации кочевых племен Притяньшанья и сопредельных регионов (VIII—XIV вв.). – Баку: Институт истории и культурного наследия Национальной академии наук Кыргызской Республики, 2012. – P. 40-42. – ISBN 5-7424-0286-4</ref>

According to [[Rashid al-Din Hamadani]], the Merkits were a branch of the Mongols.<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |title=Jamiʻuʼt-tawarikh. Compendium of chronicles. A History of the Mongols. Part One / Translated and Annotated by W. M. Thackston |publisher=Harvard university |year=1998 |page=52}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":Merkits">{{Cite journal |author= Ушницкий В. В. |url= https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/zagadka-plemeni-merkitov-problema-proishozhdeniya-i-potomstva |title=Загадка племени меркитов: проблема происхождения и потомства |journal= Вестник Томского государственного университета. История |date= 2013 |number= 1 (21) |pages=191–195 |language=ru}}</ref>

== Conflict with Genghis Khan ==
[[Genghis Khan|Temüjin's]] mother [[Hoelun]], originally from the [[Olkhonud]], had been engaged to the Merkit chief Yehe Chiledu. She was abducted by Temüjin's father [[Yesugei]], while being escorted home by Yehe Chiledu.

In turn, Temüjin's new wife [[Börte]] 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 his ''khan etseg'' ('khan father') [[Toghrul]] of the [[Keraites#Khanate|Keraites]], attacked the Merkit and rescued Börte within the year. The Merkits were dispersed after this attack. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son named [[Jochi]]. 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 other [[Mongol]] tribes and received the title [[Genghis Khan]] in 1206, the Merkits seem to have disappeared as an ethnic group. Those who survived were absorbed by other Mongol ([[Oirats]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Авляев |first=Г. О. |title=Происхождение калмыцкого народа |publisher=Калм. кн. изд-во |year=2002 |page=13 |language=ru}}</ref> [[Buryats]],<ref name=":Merkits2">{{Cite journal |author= Ушницкий В. В. |url= https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/ischeznuvshee-plemya-merkitov-mekritov-k-voprosu-o-proishozhdenii-i-istorii |title=Исчезнувшее племя меркитов (мекритов): к вопросу о происхождении и истории |journal= Вестник НГУ. Серия: История, филология |date= 2009 |number= 3 |pages=212-221 |language=ru}}</ref> [[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkhas]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Аюудайн |first=Очир |title=Монгольские этнонимы: вопросы происхождения и этнического состава монгольских народов |publisher=КИГИ РАН |year=2016 |page=109 |language=ru}}</ref>) and Turkic tribes ([[Kazakhs]], [[Kyrgyzes]]) and others who fled to the [[Kipchaks]] mixed with them. In 1215–1218, [[Jochi]] and [[Subutai]] crushed the remnants of them under their former leader Toghta Beki's family. The Mongols clashed with the [[Kankalis]] or the Kipchaks because they had sheltered the Merkit.

Genghis Khan had a Merkit [[khatun]] (queen) named Khulan. She died while Mongol forces [[Siege of Ryazan|besieged Ryazan]] in 1236.

== Late Merkits ==
A few Merkits achieved prominent positions among the Mongols. [[Great Khan]] [[Güyük Khan|Guyuk]]'s beloved khatun [[Oghul Qaimish]], who was a regent from 1248 to 1251, was a Merkit woman. The traditionalist [[Bayan of the Merkid|Bayan]] and his nephew [[Toqto'a (Yuan dynasty)|Toqto'a]] served as [[Grand chancellor (China)|grand chancellors]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]].

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

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{{Mongol ethnic groups |state = expanded }}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Turco-Mongol}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mongol peoples]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:11th-century establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1200s disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of East Asia]]
[[Category:Nomadic confederacies]]