Merkit
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Three Mergids ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ | ||
|---|---|---|
| 11th century–1200 | ||
| Mongol Empire c.1207 Mongol Empire c.1207 | ||
| Status | nomadic confederacy | |
| Capital | Not specified | |
| Religion | Shamanism | |
| Government | Elective monarchy | |
| Khan | ||
| Historical era | Post-classical Central Asia | |
• Established | 11th century | |
• Disestablished | 1200 | |
|
Preceded by
Succeeded by
|
||
Russia (Buryatia)
| History of Mongolia |
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Prehistoric period Afanasievo culture 3300–2500 BC Chemurchek culture 2750–1900 BC Munkhkhairkhan culture 1800–1600 BC Sagsai culture 1500–1000 BC Ulaanzuukh culture 1450–1150 BC Deer stones culture 1400–700 BC Slab-grave culture 1100–300 BC Chandman culture 700–300 BC Pazyryk culture 600–300 BC |
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Ancient period Xiongnu 209 BC–93 AD Xianbei state 93–234 Rouran Khaganate 330–555 Xueyantuo 628–646 Tang protectorate 647–682 Uyghur Khaganate 744–840 Liao dynasty 907–1125 |
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Medieval period Mongol khanates 9th–12th century Khamag Mongol 1130–1206 Mongol Empire 1206–1368 Yuan dynasty 1271–1368 Northern Yuan 1368–1635 Oirat Confederation 1399–1634 Dzungar Khanate 1634–1757 Qing dynasty 1691–1911 |
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Modern period National Revolution 1911 Bogd Khaganate 1911–1919 Chinese occupation 1919–1921 People's Republic 1924–1992 Modern Mongolia 1990–present |
The Merkit (/ˈmɜːrkɪt/ ; Mongolian: [ˈmircɪt] ; lit. 'Wise Ones') was one of the five major tribal confederations of Mongol [1] [2] [3] [4] or Turkic origin [5] [6] [note 1] in the 12th-century Mongolian Plateau.
The Merkits lived in the basins of the Selenga and lower Orkhon River (modern south Buryatia and Selenge Province).[8] After a struggle of over 20 years, they were defeated in 1200 by Genghis Khan and were incorporated into the Mongol Empire.
Etymology
[edit ]The word Merkit (Merged) with a hard "g" is a plural form derived from the 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 ]
Three Merkits
[edit ]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.
Ethnic relations
[edit ]The Merkits were related to the Mongols, Naimans, Keraites, and Khitan people.[9]
Conflict with Genghis Khan
[edit ]Temüjin's mother Hoelun, originally from the Olkhonud, had been engaged to the Merkit chief Yehe Chiledu by 1153. 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. Temüjin, supported by his brother (not blood-related) Jamukha and his khan etseg ('khan father') Toghrul of the Keraites, attacked the Merkit and rescued Börte within the year. The Mergids were dispersed after this attack. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son named Jochi. Temüjin accepted paternity, but the question lingered throughout Jochi's life. 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 likely absorbed by other Mongol tribes (Oirats, Buryats, Khalkhas) 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 besieged Ryazan in 1236. In 1236, during the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria, a body of the Merkit was found in the area of land dominated by the Bulgar and Kipchak.
Late Merkits
[edit ]A few Merkits achieved prominent position among the Mongols, but they were classified as Mongols in Mongolian society. Great Khan Guyuk's beloved khatun Oghul Qaimish, who was a regent from 1248 to 1251, was a Merged woman. The traditionalist Bayan and his nephew Toqto'a served as grand chancellors of the Yuan dynasty. After the fall of the Yuan dynasty, they were a clan of a banner in the Northern Yuan dynasty.
Notes
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ History of the Mongolian People's Republic. — Nauka Pub. House, Central Dept. of Oriental Literature, 1973. — p. 99.
- ^ Jeffrey Tayler. Murderers in Mausoleums: Riding the Back Roads of Empire Between Moscow and Beijing. — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. — p. 1. — ISBN 9780547523828.
- ^ Bertold Spuler. The Muslim world: a historical survey. — Brill Archive, 1969. — p. 118.
- ^ Elza-Bair Mataskovna Gouchinova. The Kalmyks. — Routledge, 2013. — p. 10. — ISBN 9781135778873.
- ^ Soucek, Svat. A History of Inner Asia. — Cambridge University Press, 2000. — p. 104. — ISBN 978-0521657044.
- ^ Гурулёв С. А. Реки Байкала: Происхождение названий. – Иркутск: Восточно-Сибирское книжное издательство, 1989 – 122 с. ISBN 5-7424-0286-4
- ^ Christopher P. Atwood – Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire ISBN 9780816046713, Facts on File, Inc. 2004.
- ^ History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003
- ^ Weatherford, Jack (2005). Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Crown/Archetype. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-307-23781-1.