Abaújszántó has been inhabited since ancient times. The Hungarians settled down in the area around the Conquest of Hungary. It was a town for more than 600 years, the centre of the Gönc district until 1921 and the largest town of the region after Kassa. It lost its town status in 1902, and in many ways its role was taken over by Encs. Was centre of the Abaújszántó district from 1921 till 1962.
Many famous men had connections with Abaújszántó, the poet Ilosvai Selymes Péter worked here as a schoolmaster, and Gáspár Károli, who translated the Bible to Hungarian, lived nearby, and the Protestant pastors of Abaújszántó helped him in his translating work.
Abaújszántó was granted town status again in 2004.
