"Aul" is a word supposedly derived from one of the Turkic languages. Most researchers attribute Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, Tatar or Bashkir roots to him. Usually it denotes some settlements of the traditional type of the Caucasian or Turkic peoples. This may be a village or a village located in the highlands, a camp of nomads, mainly residents of Central Asia.
History of the word
The roots of this term are directly related to the progenitor of all Turkic languages and dialects. Since ancient times, the aul has been a nomadic haven of small tribal groups, transporting their yurts along with horses. The latter, in turn, were mobile portable housing, which could be easily carried on horseback.
The size of auls has always been different. The smallest of them could number about 2-3 yurts. Only the closest relatives from the same clan lived in them. We althier villages are large settlements with more than a hundred yurts. The very position and number of yurts wasconnected not only with the we alth of the tribe, but also with nomadic conditions, as well as the political situation in the region.
Mountain villages in the understanding of the Slavs
The word itself was also borrowed by neighboring Christian Slavs. For them, an aul is any settlement in which the Turkic peoples or Muslims lived. In Soviet times, this word practically went out of use and was used only by indigenous mountain peoples. Instead, a more familiar name was used - the village.
Aul in modern times
Today, this term is not used anywhere else in any official source. The only exception can be called Kyrgyzstan, where auls (aiyls) are called all settlements of the rural type. On the example of this word, one can notice the assimilation of the Turkic peoples by Slavic culture.
