Iakovos "Yiakoumakis" Tombazis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τομπάζης, –1829) was a merchant and ship-owner from the Greek island of Hydra who became the first Admiral of the Hellenic Navy during the Greek War of Independence. The Tombazis family migrated from Vourla, Smyrna to the island of Hydra in 1668. It was originally named ''Yakoumakis'' ( el, Γιακουμάκης). Iakovos Tombazis' date of birth is not known but some historians suggest 1782. He was the son of Nikolaos Tombazis and brother of Emmanouil Tombazis. As a businessman, he was shrewd and was the first to build greenhouses in Greece. In 1818, he was initiated into the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

(Friendly Society) which was preparing the ground for the revolt. When the war broke out, his fellow islanders made him admiral of the fleet of Hydra. He took part in several clashes against the Sultan's Navy in the eastern Aegean and soon realized that the Greek warships, being mostly converted and armed merchantmen, could not face the Ottoman ships of the line in conventional combat. He therefore proposed the use of

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

s instead, and sent Dimitrios Papanikolis to burn the Turkish frigate ''Moving Mountain'' anchored at

Eresos Eresos (; el, Ερεσός; grc, Ἔρεσος) and its twin beach village Skala Eresou are located in the southwest part of the Greek island of Lesbos. They are villages visited by considerable numbers of tourists. From 1999 until 2010, Ereso ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

. Tombazis met fellow Hydriote Andreas Miaoulis in 1822 and reportedly realized the man's military genius, proposing him as admiral of the fleet. After Tombazis withdrew from the admiralty, he continued to support the revolution with his ships and money. Iakobos Tompasis by Hess

He died in 1829. The Greek destroyer ''Tombazis'' (D-215) was named for the Admiral in 1976.

References

Sources

Iakovos Tombazis
from Phantis Wiki * *

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tombazis, Iakovos 1782 births 1829 deaths Greek admirals Greek revolutionaries Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Greek businesspeople in shipping People from Hydra (island)