However, it was in the field of Oriental literature, especially Ethiopian studies, that he stood out most prominently. He translated and published biographical texts about several Ethiopian monarchs, such as the História de Minás [History of Minas], Crónica de Susenyos [Chronicle of Susenyos], and the Canção de Galavdevos [Song of Galavdevos]. He also translated and published various Ethiopian religious texts, including Duas Homílias sobre S. Tomé, Atribuídas a S. João Crisóstomo [Two Homilies on St. Thomas, Attributed to St. John Chrysostom], Vida de S. Paulo de Tebas [Life of St. Paul of Thebes], and, in some cases, translated texts into French, such as the Livro de Ester [Book of Esther]. Around twenty texts by Esteves Pereira based on Ethiopian originals are known. His work achieved international recognition, and he corresponded with several renowned foreign scholars.

The history of science also garnered Esteves Pereira’s attention. Between 1911 and 1913, he reprinted in the Revista de Engenharia Militar [Journal of Military Engineering], the two treatises Pedro Nunes dedicated to the mariner’s chart, included in the first book he published in 1537, Tratado da Esfera [Treatise on the Sphere]. This initiative marked the first contemporary reprints of these treatises and was accompanied by introductory studies authored by Esteves Pereira, which reflected his advanced training in mathematics. I n a study dedicated to Esteves Pereira’s contributions as an Orientalist, David Lopes highlighted this characteristic of the man, noting that his writings always employed a mathematical style, even when addressing literary studies: " The writer was naturally this way as well. His phrasing was devoid of colour; it was a transplantation of the mathematical process of demonstration into the literary field: precise and clear, as he was. […] He was not, therefore, a man of letters in the true sense of the term, but rather a scientist who dealt with literary subjects. This is not to say that science is incompatible with literature; on the contrary, in every country, there are scientists who have been great writers. […] But Esteves Pereira did not aspire to be one of those: he did not seek to create art, but science, even though many of his studies were subtitled as literary. The subject matter was literary, not the form ." (David Lopes , Um orientalista português (F. M. Esteves Pereira) , pp. 5–6). David Lopes, who personally knew and interacted with Esteves Pereira due to their shared academic interests, described him as a discreet individual, which, in Lopes’s view, sometimes worked to his disadvantage among those who judge others by appearances. Lopes also mentioned the illness that began to weaken Esteves Pereira from 1922 onwards and ultimately led to his death in Lisbon on 9 December 1924.

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