the main event which occurred during his premiership was the first italo-ethiopian war, which originated from a disputed treaty which, the italians claimed, turned ethiopia into an italian protectorate. much to their surprise, they found that ethiopian ruler menelik ii, rather than opposed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported by them, and so the italian army, invading ethiopia from italian eritrea in 1893, faced a more united front than they expected. in addition, ethiopia was supported by russia an orthodox christian nation like ethiopia with military advisers, army training, and the sale of weapons for ethiopian forces during the war and was supported diplomatically by the united kingdom and france in order to prevent italy from becoming a colonial competitor.