Patani (historical region)
Patani Darussalam (Malay: Kesultanan Patani Darussalam, Jawi: كسلطانن ڤطاني دارالسلام, also sometimes Patani Raya or Patani Besar, "Greater Patani"; ปตานี) is a historical region and sultanate in the Malay peninsula. It includes the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala (Jala), Narathiwat (Menara), and parts of Songkhla (Singgora). Its capital was the town of Patani. The Patani region has historical affinities with the Singgora (Songkhla), Ligor (Nakhon Si Thammarat), Lingga (near Surat Thani) and Kelantan sultanates dating back to the time when the Patani Kingdom was a semi-independent Malay sultanate paying tribute to the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1767, the Sultanate of Patani gained full independence, but under King Rama I, it again came under Siam's control. In recent years, a secessionist movement has sought the establishment of a Malay Islamic state, Patani Darussalam, encompassing the three southern Thai provinces. This campaign has taken a particularly violent turn after 2001, resulting in an intractable insurgency across southern Thailand and the imposition of martial law. According to legend, the founder of Patani was a raja from Kota Malikha named Phaya Tunakpa. Phaya Tunakpa went hunting one day and saw a beautiful albino mouse-deer the size of a goat, which then disappeared. He asked his men where the animal had gone, and they replied: "Pata ni lah!" ("This beach!" in the Patani Malay language). They searched for the mouse-deer but found instead an old man fishing, who identified himself as Che' Tani. The old man said that he was sent by the raja's grandfather to build a new town further beyond but had fallen ill on the journey; as he could not go any further, he stayed at that place. The raja later ordered a town be built at the site where the mouse-deer had disappeared. The town became Patani, which is believed to be named either after "this beach" where the mouse-deer had disappeared, or the old man as Pak Tani meaning "Father Tani".