After the Ottoman entry into World War I in November 1914, Ottoman troops advanced into the Caucasus against Russia. This threatened to cut off the troops in Azerbaijan and an evacuation was ordered. Between 17 December 1914 and 6 January 1915, all Russian troops left Tabriz. Many local Christians—Assyrian, Chaldean and Orthodox—left with them. Ottoman Kurds under Aḥmad Mukhtār Bey Shamkhal occupied the city on 8 January.