Babil Governorate or Babylon Province ( ar, محافظة بابل ''Muḥāfaẓa Bābil'') is a

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

in central Iraq. It has an area of , with an estimated population of 2,065,042 people in 2018. The provincial capital is the city of

Hillah Hillah ( ar, ٱلْحِلَّة ''al-Ḥillah''), also spelled Hilla, is a city in central Iraq on the Hilla branch of the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad. The population is estimated at 364,700 in 1998. It is the capital of Babylon Province a ...

, which lies opposite the ancient city of

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

(بابل), on the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

river.

History

The ancient city of

in present-day Babylon Province was the capital of ancient

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

, situated on the

river south of Baghdad, Iraq. The city was occupied from the 3rd millennium BC but became important early in the 2nd millennium under the kings of the First Dynasty of Babylon. The sixth king of this dynasty was Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC) who made Babylon the capital of a vast empire and is best remembered for his code of laws. The city peaked in pre-eminence when

Nabopolassar Nabopolassar (Babylonian cuneiform: , meaning "Nabu, protect the son") was the founder and first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his coronation as king of Babylon in 626 BC to his death in 605 BC. Though initially only aimed at res ...

(626–605 BC) and his successor and son

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

(605–562 BC) extended the Neo-Babylonian Empire over most of Western Asia. Bestowing this name on the province is a manifestation of the policy of modern Iraq to link itself to the history of pre-Islamic Mesopotamia. In 1991 Babil Governorate was the center of a Shia uprising.

Geography

Babylon province is located between 32° to 33.25° North latitude and 44° to 45° East longitude.

Districts

The Babil Governorate is divided into four districts: *

Al-Mahawil District Al-Mahawil () is a district in Babil Governorate, Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Tur ...

(

Al-Mahawil Al-Mahawil ( ar, المحاويل) also Mahawil, Al Maḩāwīl, Qaḑā’ al Maḩāwīl, and Khān al Mahawīl) is one of a very few Sunni Arab towns in southern Iraq in the Babil Governorate Babil Governorate or Babylon Province ( ar, محا� ...

) *

Al-Musayab District , settlement_type =District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Iraq , pushpin_label_position =right , pushpin_map_caption = Location in Iraq , subdivision_type ...

History

Geography

Districts

Cities

Postal codes

Demographics

See also

Notes and references

External links