baeda maryam i died at abasi wera gabayi of a sudden illness, but he was buried in a tomb at atronsa maryam, a church he had built in the area between the abay and jamma rivers. this church was later notable for its painting of mary and christ by the artist brancaleon, a venetian who had come to live in ethiopia. his tomb was later destroyed in an oromo raid in 1709, when they sacked the church, enslaved or killed all of the people present, and hurled the coffin of baeda maryam i over the nearby cliffs. the explorer richard burton records the contrary story that on his deathbed, baeda maryam i ordered that his body be buried so his face looked towards adal, "upon whose subjugation the energies of ten years had been vainly expended."