Syr Darya (; ; ; , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo; - Siːħuːn) is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta ("Great Pearly"), a reference to the color of the river's water. In medieval Islamic writings, the river is uniformly known as Sayhoun (سيحون) - after one of the four rivers of Paradise. (Amu Darya was likewise known as Jay… (More on Jaxartes)