In the first year of his reign, one Sheikh Abu-Abdallah had gathered a large following and proclaimed a jihad against Wedem Arad's realm.
Without sufficient manpower, Abu-Abdallah was forced to agree to a treaty with Wedem Arad, in return for providing "them with all their needs until they are completely satisfied".
Taddesse Tamrat suggests this involved giving them land to settle on, and notes that on the edge of the territory of Shewa there is a locality known as "Abdalla", which might be that settlement.
[2] Perhaps hearing of the Christians' successes against Al-Andalus in Iberia, Wedem Arad sought to negotiate a mutual defense pact with them against their common Muslim enemies.
Giovanni's account of their country based on the interviews is lost, but was summarized by Jacobus Philippus Foresti da Bergamo in his Supplementum Chronicarum; this is the first text that associates the legendary figure of Prester John with Ethiopia.