[6] However, Edward Ullendorff notes Baeda Maryam I was unable to hold together the far-flung empire his father left him: "some of the outlying provinces recently conquered began to grow restive; the feudal lords whom Zar'a Ya'qob had only ephemerally brought under central control reasserted their regional authority; and the senior clergy relapsed into some of the old-established ways of conduct and ecclesiastical organization.
"[7] Emperor Baeda Maryam I conducted a campaign against the Dobe'a early in his reign, but they had fled with their cattle, camels, and he was unable to track down any of them.
He sent the Emperor a horse, a mule laden with dates, a shield, and two spears to show his support, along with a message saying, "I have set up my camp, O my master, with the intention of stopping these people.
There he called upon one of his best fighting regiments, Jan Amora ("Royal Eagle"), after which the sub-province and woreda were named, who were eager to participate in the campaign.
The twelve Dobe'a leaders learned of the new attack being prepared, and began to flee in various directions into the lowlands of Adal with their women, children, and cattle, with their property loaded on their camels and other beasts of burden.
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.
[12] 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.