Some traditions state this began during the Zagwe dynasty, others even earlier; the first certain mention of the practice was during the reign of Jin Asgad, who confined his brothers and his own sons to Amba Geshen.

The Muslims, under Ahmed Gragn, made several attempts to capture Amba Geshen: the Futuh al-Habasha describes the first (in November 1531) and second (in 1533), both failing.

Due to the origin of the Solomonic Dynasty in Bete Amhara, the regions rulers played a disproportionate role in the politics of the Ethiopian state.

An account of Amba Geshen was published in Purchas, His Pilgrimage where it was called Mount Amara, where medieval Amhara kings of Ethiopia used to be imprisoned.

Mount Amara, though this by som suppos'd In Samuel Johnson's Rasselas, the main character is a prince of Ethiopia who is interned in a mountain sanctuary called the "Happy Valley."