| Sultanate of Patani Darussalam كراجأن ڤتاني Kerajaan Patani Sultanate of Patani Darul Makrif |
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| Map of Sultanate of Patani | ||||
| Capital | Patani | |||
| Language(s) | Pattani Malay | |||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | |||
| Government | Monarchy | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||
| - Established | 1516 | |||
| - Annexation by Siamese | 1771 | |||
Pattani (Patani) or Sultanate of Pattani was a Malay sultanate that covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and much of the northern part of modern Malaysia. The King of Patani is believed to have converted to Islam some time during the 11th century. The 6-7th century Hindu state of Pan Pan may or may not be related.
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Langkasuka was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom founded in the region as early as the 2nd century that appeared in many accounts by Chinese travelers, the most famous of whom was the Buddhist pilgrim I-Ching. The kingdom drew trade from Chinese, Indian, and local traders as a stopping place for ships bound for, or just arrived from, the Gulf of Thailand. Langkasuka reached its greatest economic success in the 6th and 7th centuries and afterward declined as a major trade center. Political circumstances suggest that by the 11th century Chola invasion, Langkasuka was no longer a major port visited by merchants. However, much of the decline may be due to the silting up of its harbor, shown most poignantly today by the fact that the most substantial Langkasukan ruins rest approximately 15 kilometers from the sea.
Pattani became part of the Hindu-Buddhist Empire of Srivijaya, a maritime confederation based in Palembang. Srivijaya dominated trade in the South China Sea and exacted tolls on all traffic through the Straits of Malacca. Malay culture had substantial influence on the Khmer Empire, and the ancient city of Nakhon Pathom.
The founding of the Islamic kingdom of Patani is thought to have been around the mid-13th century, with folklore suggesting it was named after an exclamation made by Sultan Ismail Shah, “Pantai Ini!” ("This beach" in the local Malay language).[1] However, some think it was the same country known to the Chinese as Pan Pan. Despite claims that the origins of the name Pattani means "this beach", it may be the same country known to the Chinese as Pan Pan.
An alternative suggestion is that the Patani kingdom was founded in the 14th century. Local stories tell of a fisherman named Paktani who was sent by a king from the interior to survey the coast to find a place for an appropriate settlement. After he established a successful fishing outpost, other people moved to join him. The town soon grew into a prosperous trading center that continued to bear his name. The authors of the Hikayat Patani chronicle claim this story is untrue, and support the claim that the kingdom was founded by the Sultan.
The Pattani kingdom's golden age was during the reign of its four successive queens from 1584, known as Ratu Hijau (The Green Queen), Ratu Biru (The Blue Queen), Ratu Ungu (The Purple Queen) and Ratu Kuning (The Yellow Queen), where the kingdom's economic and military strength was greatly increased to the point that it was able to fight off four major Siamese invasions, with the help of the eastern Malay kingdom of Pahang and the southern Malay Sultanate of Johore.
In the 14th century, King Ram Khamhaeng the Great (c.1239 - 1317) of Sukhothai (also known as Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng, Thai: พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช), occupied Nakhon Si Thammarat and its vassal states - including Pattani.
The Thai Ayutthaya kingdom conquered the isthmus, bringing it into a single unified state with Ayutthaya as a capital, and many smaller vassal states under its control. This consisted of a self-governing system in which the vassal states and tributary provinces owed allegiance to the king of Ayutthaya, but otherwise ran their own affairs.
A sheikh from Kampong Pasai (presumeably a small community of traders from Pasai who lived on the outskirts of Patani) named Sa'id or Shafi'uddin, in various accounts, healed the king of a rare skin disease and after much negotiation (and recurrence of the disease), the king agreed to convert to Islam, adopting the name Sultan Ismail Shah. Afterward, all of the sultan's officials also converted. There is fragmentary evidence, however, that some local people had begun to convert prior to the king's conversion. First of all, the existence of a diasporic Pasai community near Patani shows that local people had regular, close contact with Muslims. But there are also travel reports, such as that of Ibn Battuta, and early Portuguese accounts that claimed Patani had an established Muslim community even prior to Melaka (which officially converted in 1413), which would suggest that non-courtiers, probably merchants who made contact with other emerging Muslims centers of the time, were the first to convert in the region.
During much of the 15th century Ayutthaya's energies were directed toward the Malay Peninsula, especially the trading port of Malacca, which fell under the rule of the Malacca Sultanate. Ayutthaya's sovereignty extended over Malacca and the Malay states south of Tambralinga (Nakorn Sri Thammarat). Ayutthaya helped to develop and stabilize the region, opening the way for the lucrative trade on the isthmus. This attracted Chinese merchants seeking specialty goods for the markets of China.
The 16th century witnessed the rise of Burma, which under an aggressive dynasty had overrun Chiang Mai and Laos and then made war on Ayutthaya. In 1569 Burmese forces, joined by Siamese rebels, captured and looted the city of Ayutthaya, carrying the royal family into captivity in Burma. Dhammaraja (reigned 1569–90), a Siam provincial governor who had aided the Burmese, was installed as vassal king at Ayutthaya. Thai independence was later restored by his son, King Naresuan the Great (reigned 1590–1605), who rebelled against the Burmese and by 1600 had driven them from the country.
Determined to prevent another act of treason like his father's, King Naresuan set about unifying the country's administration directly under the royal court at Ayutthaya. He ended the practice of nominating royal princes to govern Ayutthaya's provinces, assigning instead court officials who were expected to execute the policies handed down by the king. Thereafter, the royal princes were confined to the capital. Their power struggles continued, but were at court under the king's watchful eye. Even with King Naresuan's reforms, the power of the royal government over the next 150 years should not be overestimated. With the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1569, Patani had become virtually independent.
Chinese merchants, beginning with Cheng Ho in the period 1406-1433, played a major role in the rise of Patani as a regional trade center. They were soon joined by other groups such as the Portuguese in 1516, Japanese in 1592, Dutch in 1602, English in 1612, and of course a great number of Malay and Siamese merchants who worked throughout the area. The United East India Company and the English East India Company established warehouses in Patani in 1603 and 1612, respectively, and carried out intense trading there. Patani was particularly viewed by European traders as a way of accessing the Chinese market. After 1620, the Dutch and English both closed their warehouses, but a prosperous trade continued, mainly with the Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese, for much of the rest of the century. Following the 1688 invasion by Ayudhya, political disorder ensued for the following half-century during which time local rulers were unable to quell the lawlessness that consumed the region. Most foreign merchants abandoned their trade in Patani at that time.
In the mid-17th century, however, Ratu Kuning (the Yellow Queen), believed to be the last of the four successive female rulers of Pattani, died. Pattani went through decades of political chaos and conflict, suffering a gradual decline.
One hundred years later, Ayutthaya under King Ekatat (Boromaraja V) was faced with another the Burmese invasion. This culminated in the fall and complete destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Siam was broken apart, Patani declared its independence.
King Taksin managed to defeat the Burmese and reunify the country, opening the way for the establishment of the Chakri dynasty by his successor, King Rama I. A resurgent and much stronger Siam, led by Prince Surasi (Vice-King Boworn Maha Surasinghanat), the younger brother of King Rama I, sought the submission of Pattani.
A series of attempted rebellions prompted Bangkok to divide Pattani into seven smaller states during the reign of King Rama II. Yala and Narathiwat remain separate provinces to this day.
Inland Dynasty(Sri Wang Sa)
First Kelantanese Dynasty
Second Kelantanese Dynasty