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 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 Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–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 Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, 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 Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...

(1792–1750 BC) who made Babylon the capital of a vast empire and is best remembered for his

code of laws A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...

. The city peaked in pre-eminence when Nabopolassar (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 The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the List of kings of Babylon, King of B ...

over most of

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. Bestowing this name on the province is a manifestation of the policy of modern

to link itself to the history of pre-Islamic

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

. 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) * Al-Musayab District (

Al-Musayab Musayyib ( ar, المسيب) is an increasing majority Shia Arab town in the Babil Province, Iraq. As of 2018, its population was 57,300. Musayyib sits on both the east and west banks of the Euphrates River, which splits into the Hindiya and Hill ...

) *

Hashimiya District , settlement_type =District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Iraq , pushpin_label_position =right , pushpin_map_caption = Location of Hashimiya District in Iraq ...

(

Al Hashimiyah Al Hashimiyah ( ar, الهاشمية) is a town in Babil Governorate, Iraq. It is located south of Baghdad. Background Al Hashimiyah is named after Hashemites who inhabited the region. The region is about .Hilla District Al-Hillah () is a district in Babil Governorate, Iraq. It is centred on the city of Al Hillah. Cities * Al Hillah * Al Sahlan Qaryat Āl Sahlān ( ar, آل سهلان) is a village by the Euphrates river, located in Al-Hilla District, Ba ...

History

Geography

Districts

Cities

Postal codes

Demographics

See also

Notes and references

External links