Pedro, or Pêro da Covilhã or (; c. 1460 – after 1526), sometimes written: Pero de Covilhăo, was a Portuguese diplomat and explorer. He was a native of Covilhã in Beira. In his early life he had gone to Castile and entered the service of Don Juan de Guzmán, brother of Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia. Later, when war broke out between Castile and Portugal, he returned to his own country, and attached himself, first as a groom, then as a squire, to Afonso V of Portugal and his successor John II of Portugal. In 1487, his overland expedition made its way to India, exploring trade opportunities with the Indians and Arabs, and winding up finally in Ethiopia. His detailed report was eagerly read in Lisbon, as Portugal became the world's best informed center for global geography and trade routes. Mission to the East Covilhã was an adventurer of low birth but an adept swordsman and loyal servant to the Portuguese Crown. His fluency in Arabic and Castilian allowed him to perform undercover operations in Spain as well as undertaking secret negotiations in Morocco on behalf of King John II of Portugal. These successful exploits prodded the King to send him and Afonso de Paiva to undertake a mission of exploration in the Near East and the adjoining regions of Asia and Africa, with the special assignment to learn where cinnamon and other spices could be found, as well as of discovering the land of legendary Prester John, by overland routes. Bartolomeu Dias, at the same time, went out to by sea find the Prester's country, as well as the termination of the African continent and the ocean route to India. The expedition started at Santarém, on May 7, 1487. Covilhã and Paiva were briefed by the Bishop of Tangiers and two Jewish mathematicians, Rodrigo and Moisés, who were prominent members of the commission which advised the Portuguese government to reject the proposals of Christopher Columbus. The explorers were presented with a "letter of credence for all the countries of the world" and a navigational map of the Middle East and Indian Ocean, likely drawn from the cartographical work of Fra Mauro. From Santarém they travelled by Barcelona to Naples, where their bills of exchange were paid by the sons of Cosimo de' Medici. Next, they went to Rhodes and acquired a stock of honey so they