THE FERTILE PLAINS of Dämbəya north of Lake Ṭana and thehill country of Säqqält to their north were one of the mainareas in which monastic centres of the Betä Ǝsraʾelwere located. Unlike the rugged peaks of the Səmen, they came underfull Solomonic control at a relatively early stage. Their proximity to theseat of Solomonic authority had a considerable impact on them. While in theSəmen, the physical and perceived distance from the “outsideworld” and its cultural impact ena-bled the survival of a majormonastic centre longer than in other regions, in Dämbəya andSäqqält, it is due to intense contact with the “outsideworld” that we know more about the religious communities there thanany other Betä Ǝsraʾel religious communities.