Iakovos Tombazis

From Phantis
Revision as of 12:50, January 16, 2009 by Irlandos (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Iakovos "Yiakoumakis" Tombazis was a merchant and ship-owner from the Greek island of Hydra who became the first admiral of the Greek Navy during the War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire (1821 - 1829).

Tombazis' date of birth is not known but 1782 is a possibility. As a businessman, he was shrewd and was the first to build greenhouses in Greece. In 1818 he was initiated into the Friendly Society (Filiki Eteria) which was preparing the ground for the revolt. When the War broke out, his fellow islanders made him admiral of their fleet. He took part in several clashes against the Turkish Navy in the eastern Aegean and soon realised that the Greek warships were not suited for conventional warfare. He proposed the use of fireships instead and sent Dimitris Papanikolis to burn the Turkish frigate "Moving Mountain" anchored at Eresos in Lesbos.

Tombazis met fellow Hydriote Andreas Miaoulis in 1822 and, realising the man's military genius, proposed him as admiral of the fleet.

After Tombazis withdrew from the admiralty, he continued to support the revolution with his ships and money.

He was married to Anna Chamou and they had six children: Nikolao, Georgio, Ioanni, Maria, Emmanuel and Elena. He died on 12 September 1829.