The Queens of Pattani

You read that right, we are talking about several queens, four to be precise, who ruled the Pattani Sultanate for more than 100 years from 1584 to 1699. Pattani, which then encompassed an area larger than the present-day Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in southern Thailand, was in the middle of the 16^de century a prosperous sultanate ruled by Sultan Mansur Shah. It had a small trading port with a good natural and sheltered harbour.

When the sultan died in 1572, political turmoil in the royal family led to a bloody battle over the succession. All the male heirs were murdered in one way or another, giving Ratu Hijau, the sultan's first daughter, power.

The four queens

Thus, the first queen was Ratu Hijau (the green queen), who reigned from 1584 to 1616. According to chronicles of European traders and travelers who visited the Islamic kingdom, she was assisted by a group of highly able ministers. In 1616 she was succeeded by her sister Ratu Biru (the blue queen), who reigned until 1624. Then the throne went to Ratu Ungu (the purple queen), the third daughter of the sultan. She ruled from 1624 to 1635. Ratu Ungu then succeeded in passing the throne to her daughter, Ratu Kuning (the yellow queen). Ratu Kuning was the last female ruler of Pattani, who reigned from 1635 to 1699.

Welfare

Thus, for more than a hundred years, from 1584 to 1699, Pattani was ruled by Vrouwen. At that time, Pattani had reached its greatest prosperity in terms of maritime trade activities, especially with Europe, Japan and the neighboring Southeast Asian kingdoms. Trading activities developed continuously, particularly during the reign of the first two queens. During that period, the economic condition of all layers of society, regardless of rich and poor, has greatly improved. According to the chronicles, the peasants enjoyed the great benefits of the irrigation projects initiated by the queens and carried out under their supervision.

Politics

Historical records have shown that the queens were very capable of proving their political skills to control internal and regional political affairs. For example, Ratu Hijau sent her sister Ratu Ungu as a bride to Sultan Abdul Ghafur Mohaidin, Shah of Pahang. Ratu Ungu was also the only queen to have married and had a daughter, Ratu Kuning. Ratu Hijau demonstrated her good knowledge of regional politics with this marriage agreement as she recognized the importance of gaining regional relations to bring more prosperity to her country. Such insightful diplomatic measures by the four queens led to the establishment of close relations with the Sultanates of Pahang and Johor, as well as other sultanates in the immediate vicinity.

Ratu Kuning

Ratu Kuning, the last queen of Pattani, reigned for more than 50 years and is considered the most important queen. During her reign, Ratu Kuning initiated a number of important developments that ultimately resulted in Pattani experiencing another glorious era of international trade after a downswing. She expanded the mouth of Pattani River and had the river dredged to accommodate larger cargo ships in the port.

Ratu Kuning was aware of her own income and refused an allowance from the royal revenue for her personal expenses. She earned money from the sale of harvests from her farmland and what she herself did not need went into the royal treasury.

In addition, she visited the Ayutthaya kingdom in 1641 to establish friendly relations, where she was welcomed by King Prasat Thong. As a result of her visit, she managed to clear Pattani from an interference from Siam.

Finally,

It has not been as peaceful as the reign of the four women is described here. Numerous coup attempts took place, each of which ended in favor of the queens. No perpetrator of an attempt to overthrow the government has been able to tell the story.

Queen Ungu's love life was also turbulent. The marriages at that time, of course, had nothing to do with love, they were all marriages of convenience to link mutual national interests. You can read a detailed report on this at www.geocities.ws/prawat_patani/queenspatani.htm

Source: short history of Sara Hasliza on the Historia Factory website