The village was founded by Syriac Orthodox Christian refugees from Tikrit in 1089, who fled to the Mar Mattai Monastery, establishing this village in the valley below the monastery.

[1] The village and Nineveh Plains region were later bolstered by other Syriac refugees from Tikrit due to Mongol raids in 1295 and Timurs genocide of Christians in the early 1400s.

[2] Merki is a prosperous agricultural village, with the cultivation of olives being their specialty.

The village has several hundred houses, and a large historic church which was recently restored.

[3] In 2015, Christian monks remained at the monastery despite a surge in ISIL activity in the area surrounding the Nineveh Plains.