Athanasios Tsakalov () was a member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

("Friendly Company"), or (" Society of Friends") a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

patriotic organization against Ottoman rule. (''retrieved from University of California Library'')

Biography

Tsakalov was born in 1790Αθανάσιος Τσακάλωφ
. — Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Εύξεινος Πόντος. in

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, today's

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

). At a young age, he left Greece to be with his father in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He studied physics in Paris, where he founded the Hellenoglosso Xenodocheio, a secret organization supporting the idea of an independent Greek state. Returning to Russia in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, he became acquainted with Nikolaos Skoufas and Emmanuil Xanthos. The three men then proceeded in 1814 in

to the founding of

, a secret organisation to prepare the ground for Greek independence. In 1818, the three partners moved to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

to further their cause. There in July, Skoufas fell ill and died leaving Tsakalov as one of the two leaders of the organization. Tsakalov was dedicated to the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

which started in 1821. During the war Tsakalov served as a flag lieutenant to

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

, the later leader of Filiki Eteria. He died in 1851 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

References

1790 births 1851 deaths Greek people of the Greek War of Independence Politicians from Ioannina Maroutsaia School alumni People from the Ottoman Empire Members of Sacred Band (1821) {{Greece-bio-stub Greek Freemasons