Petros Elia of Baz () (April 1880 – 2 February 1932), better known as Agha Petros, was an Assyrian military leader during World War I. Early years Petros Elia was from the Lower Baz village, Ottoman Empire in 1880. There he received his elementary education before attending a European missionary school in the Persian 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 the Russians entered Urmia, Agha Petros was appointed as a general with a small Assyrian force under his command. He later engaged and defeated 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 Dawid Mar Shimun, the center being under the command of Mar Shimun). His volunteers had quite a few successes over the Ottoman forces, notably at Suldouze where Petros’ 1,500 horsemen overcame the forces of Kheiri Bey's (8,000 men). Petros also defeated the Ottomans in a major engagement at Sauj Bulak and drove them back to Rowanduz. Agha Petros defeated the Turks in Sauj Bulak and drove them back to Rowanduz. He sometimes had limited control over Armenians and other Assyrian forces, and was indeed mistrusted by quite a few of them. There was disunion in the ranks, and instead of posting a force to contain the Turks, whom he had defeated previously, he moved his forces to Sain Kala as encouraged by the British officials, who had promised him military help. Nevertheless, the British did not fulfill their promises. He reached Sain Kala seven days after the British detachment retired. After the invasion of Mosul by the Young Turks, the Assyrian army, led by General Agha Petros, fought intensively and successfully against the Ottoman army and their Kurdish allies, and pushed them out of Mosul and the whole area, leading to Britain's control of the region. The battles are described in detail by surviving letters of Petros and British officials. Agha Petros also had some disagreements with Mar Shimun, the patriarch