A modern commentator has tried to put a positive gloss on this event by stating "When Tewodros preferred self-inflicted death to captivity, he deprived the British of this ultimate satisfaction and laid the foundation for his own resurrection as a symbol of the defiant independence of the Ethiopian." In fact, when Tewodros's death was announced, the defenders ceased all resistance.

Lieutenant Stumm, an eyewitness, described the discovery of Tewodros's body:

"Climbing a narrow rock stairway, we advanced quickly toward a second gate, through which we passed without meeting resistance. About a hundred paces beyond it lay the half-naked body of the Emperor himself, who had taken his own life with a pistol shot. A strange smile was on the remarkably young and attractive-looking face, and I was struck particularly by the finely drawn, boldly aquiline nose"