Phaya Tani
Phaya Tani ( or Seri Patani in Malay) is a 17th-century siege cannon from Pattani Province in southern Thailand. It is the largest cannon ever cast in what is now Thailand, measuring 2.7 m long (9 feet) and made of brass. It is on display in front of the Ministry of Defence, opposite the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The cannon still serves as the symbol of Pattani Province.
The Seri Patani (meaning the "independence of Patani") was cast in the early-17th century in the Sultanate of Pattani by a craftsman of Chinese origin named Tok Kayan. Sultan Ratu Biru ordered the construction of powerful artillery in response to rumors of a forthcoming attack from Siam. Three cannon were cast, two siege guns named Seri Patani and Seri Negara, and a smaller cannon named the Mahalela.
After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767, the Sultanate of Pattani renounced its tributary status to Siam and declared its independence. Eighteen years later, however, a Thai army led by King Rama I's brother, the vice-king Boworn Maha Surasinghanat, invaded and conquered Patani, and the Thais have ruled it ever since.[1]
The Phaya Patani and Phaya Negara were ordered to be sent to Bangkok as spoils of war. The Phaya Negara came loose as it was being loaded aboard a ship and plunged into the sea, where it remains.
King Rama I ordered a similar-sized cannon named the Narai Sanghan (Thai: นารายณ์สังหาร) to be cast to serve as a companion to the Phaya Patani, now renamed the Phraya Tani.
See also
- Queens of Langkasuka - a 2008 Thai historical fantasy adventure film set in the Pattani Kingdom about the quest for the sunken cannon.