When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Sultan Muhammad agreed to not resist the Italians in exchange for being allowed their autonomy. When the Aussas made a visit to Rome in 1939, Yayyo and Alimirah, his son-in-law, visited the imprisoned "Leul Ras" Imru Haile Selassie, whom they helped financially and pleaded (unsuccessfully) to be released. Upon Ethiopia's liberation in 1941, Yayyo and Alimirah captured nearly a thousand Italian soldiers and brought them to Addis Ababa to commemorate the Emperor's return.