DOLNJA TUZLA

dolnja tuzla, or donji soli, the capital of the dolnja tuzla district, in bosnia, beautifully situated on the jala or julla, a small stream flowing into the spreca, which joins the bosna at doboj, 39 m. w.n.w.; and on a branch railway from doboj. pop. (1895) 10,227; almost all, including a permanent colony of gipsies, being moslems. dolnja tuzla is the seat of a district court and an orthodox bishop; with several churches, many mosques, a hospital, gymnasium and commercial school. besides large alkali works, it has a vigorous trade in grain, livestock, timber and coal, from the surrounding hills, where there is a colony of hungarian miners; while the salt springs, owned by the state both at dolnja, or lower, and gornja, or upper tuzla, 6 m. e., are without a rival in the balkan peninsula. dolnja tuzla was called by the romans _ad salinas_. constantine porphyrogenitus mentions it, in the 10th century, as _salenes_; in other medieval documents it appears as _sou_, _sow_ or _soli_. its modern name is derived from the turkish _tuz_, "salt." in 1690 the austrians routed the turks at gornja tuzla, and removed the franciscan friars, with about 3000 other roman catholics, into slavonia.