Merkit people
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The Merkit, Merged, or Mergid (Merged means "wise ones," "adept ones," "skillful ones," "(skillful) archers," or "hunters" in Mongolian) were a Turkic[1] or Mongol[2] tribe with a fierce reputation that inhabited southeastern Siberia during the Middle Ages. After a long struggle over two decades, the Merkits were defeated and incorporated into the Mongol nation formed by Temüjin (later Genghis Khan) in the first decade of the 13th century.[3] They disappear as a separate group after the Mongol unification of 1206.
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[edit] Ethnic relations
The ethnicity of the Merkits is somewhat obscure; most likely they were Turkic or Mongolic (related to Mongols, Naimans, Keraits, and Khitan), but it has also been postulated that they are more closely related to Paleosiberian,[citations needed] such as the Chukchi, or to Tungusic peoples, such as the Manchu and the Evenks.[citation needed]
[edit] Conflict with Genghis Khan
Temüjin's mother Hoelun, originally from the Olkhunut tribe, had been engaged to the Merkit warrior Chiledu by 1153. She was abducted by Temüjin's father Yesugei, while being escorted home by Chiledu.
In turn, Temüjin's new wife Börte was kidnapped by Merkit raiders from their campsite by the Onon river around 1184 and given to one of their warriors. Temüjin, supported by his blood brother Jamuga and his foster-father Toghril, the Khan of the Keraits, attacked the Merkit and rescued Börte within the year. The Merkit were dispersed after this attack. Shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son named Jochi. Temüjin accepted paternity but the question kept lingering over Jochi's life. Those incidents resulted in a strong animosity between Temüjin and his family and the Merkits. Over the following two decades, he attacked them several times.
By the time he had united the other Mongol tribes and was given the title "Genghis Khan" in 1206, the Merkits seem to have disappeared as a separate ethnic group. Those who survived were most likely absorbed by other Mongol tribes, such as the Oirats and others who fled to Kypchaks mixed with them. In 1215-1218, Jochi and Subotai crushed the remnants of them under their former leader Toghta Bekis' family. The Mongols clashed with the Kankalis or the Kypchaks because they gave shelter to them. Genghis Khan had Merkit Khatun named Khulan. Genghis and her son Khulgen died during the siege of Russian settlement in Ryazan in 1236. During the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria, a body of the Merkid was found in the Bulgar-Kypchak dominated areas in 1236.
[edit] Late Merkits
Few Merkits achieved prominent position among the Mongols. But they were classified as the Mongols in Mongolian Society. Great Khan Guyuk's beloved khatun Oghul Qaimish, who was a regent from 1248-1251, was a Merkid woman. And traditionalist Bayan and his cousin Toghta served as Grand councilors of Mongol Dynasty in China and Mongolia. After the fall of the Great Yuan, they were a clan of a banner in Northern Yuan Dynasty, or Mongolian Khaanate.
[edit] References
- ^ Soucek, Svat (2000) (in English). A History of Inner Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0521657044. http://books.google.com/books?id=7E8gYYcHuk8C&pg=PA104&dq=merkit+turkic&lr=&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U057R79zsZspbwEMxBLh5W8qRhOPA. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
- ^ They were always counted as a part of the Mongols within the Mongol Empire, however, scholars traditionally believe that they were the Turkic people, see also: Christopher P. Atwood - Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire ISBN 9780816046713, Facts on File, Inc. 2004.
- ^ Jack Weatherford (2004). Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-609-61062-6 (0-609-61062-7). Most of the dates in this article are from this book, which is mainly based on the Secret History.
