Merkit
Three Mergids ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ | |||||||||||
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| 11th century–1200 | |||||||||||
Mongol Empire c.1207 | |||||||||||
| Status | Nomadic confederacy | ||||||||||
| Capital | Not specified | ||||||||||
| Religion | Shamanism, Syriac Christianity | ||||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||||
| Khan | |||||||||||
| Historical era | Post-classical Central Asia | ||||||||||
• Established | 11th century | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1200 | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | Mongolia Russia (Buryatia) | ||||||||||
| History of Mongolia |
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The Merkit (/ˈmɜːrkɪt/; Mongolian: [ˈmircɪt]; lit. 'Wise Ones') was one of the five major tribal confederations of Mongol or Turkic origin 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). After a struggle of over 20 years, they were defeated in 1200 by Genghis Khan and were incorporated into the Mongol Empire.