Petros Elia of Baz (
Syriac: ܐܝܠܝܐ ܦܹܛܪܘܼܣ) (April, 1880 – 2 February 1932), better known as
Agha Petros, was an
Assyrian military leader during
World War I.
Early years
Petros Elia was born in the Lower
Baz village,
Ottoman Empire in 1880. There he received his elementary education before attending a European missionary school in the
Iranian city of
Urmia. After finishing his studies, he went back to his village of Baz and became a teacher there. It was thanks to his fluency in numerous languages, including
Syriac,
Turkish,
Arabic,
French,
Persian,
Kurdish, English, and
Russian, he was appointed by the
Ottomans as a secretary, and as a
Consul in
Urmia briefly in 1909.
World War I
After Russians Entered Urmia, Agha Petros was appointed as a general with a small Assyrian force under his command. He later successfully engaged forces of Ottoman and Kurds in a series of battles. He was later approached by the
Allies and was given command of the left wing of the army of
Assyrian Volunteers (the right wing being commanded by
Mar Shimun’s brother
David Shimunaia, the center being under the command of
Mar Shimun).Joseph Naayem,
Shall this Nation die?, Chaldean Rescue, New York, 1920, p277
His volunteers had quite a few successes over the
Ottoman forces,...
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