After witnessing a bright light in the sky (which most historians have identified as Halley's Comet, visible in Ethiopia in 1456), Zara Yaqob founded Debre Berhan and made it his capital for the remainder of his reign.
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The monastery dates from the 14th century, and has important connections with Ethiopian history: the Emperor Zara Yaqob was educated there until his 14th year, the Battle of Debre Abbay was fought nearby 14 February 1831, and notable Ethiopian scholars, such as Gedamu Woldegiorgis, continued to be educated there well into the early to mid-1900s.
According to Antonio Cecchi, Sela Dingay was founded by Wossen Seged in 1804, naming the town after the historic district of Sela Dingay, although the local Debre Mitmaq church had been founded by Emperor Zara Yaqob, where he convened the Council of Debre Mitmaq in 1450 which resolved a rift in the Ethiopian Church over the observance of the Sabbath.