The Sajó ( , Hungarian) or Slaná ( Slovak) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. Its length is 229 km, of which 110 km is in Slovakia. Its source is in the Stolica Mountains range of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It flows through the Slovak town

Rožňava Rožňava ( hu, Rozsnyó, german: Rosenau, Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožň ...

and the Hungarian city

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

. In Hungary it flows through the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén. It flows into the River

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

near

Tiszaújváros Tiszaújváros (; sk, Nové Mesto nad Tisou) is an industrial town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, south-east of Miskolc, near the river Tisza. History Tiszaújváros as a town owes its existence to the industrialization wav ...

. Its main tributaries are the

Bodva The Bodva (, , german: Bodwa) is a 110-km long river in Slovakia and Hungary. Its source is in the Slovak Ore Mountains. The river crosses the border with Hungary near Turňa nad Bodvou, and it flows into the river Sajó in Boldva, north of Mi ...

and the

Hornád Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňava. ...

. Also known for

Battle of the Sajó River The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...

from 11 April 1241 between the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

Etymology

The origin of the name is the subject of scholar discussions. Hungarian linguists and historians suggested the derivation from the Hungarian ''sojó, só folyó'' (salt water, river) already in the 19th century. Newer theories associate the name with ''sió'' referring to fast streams. According to Slovak linguists the name is pre-Hungarian (''Slaná'': salt river) and most likely not associated with the salinity but with the

salt road A salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) refers to any of the prehistoric and historical trade routes by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it. From the Bronze Age (in the 2nd m ...

existing already in times of

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...

. The supporters argue by numerous Slavic toponyms in the river basin and by local names related to ''soľ'' (salt) and Moravia like ''Moravce'', ''Soľár'', ''Solišče'', ''Soľka'', ''Soľník'', ''Morava'' (according to this interpretation the Hungarian name is a later translation).

References

Rivers of Hungary Rivers of Slovakia International rivers of Europe {{Slovakia-river-stub