Official Name: | Babylon Governorate |
Native Name: | محافظة بابل |
Native Name Lang: | ar |
Other Name: | Babil Province |
Settlement Type: | Governorate |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Iraq |
Subdivision Type1: | Capital |
Subdivision Name1: | Hillah |
Population As Of: | 2018 Estimate |
Population Total: | 2,065,042 |
Area Total Km2: | 5119 |
Leader Title: | Governor |
Leader Name: | Adnan Fayhan |
Blank Name Sec2: | HDI (2021) |
Blank Info Sec2: | 0.682[1] |
Iso Code: | IQ-BB |
Babylon Governorate or Babil Province[2] [3] (Arabic: محافظة بابل Muḥāfaẓa Bābil) is a governorate in central Iraq. It has an area of 5119km2, The population in Babil for 2023 is 1,820,700. The provincial capital is the city of Hillah, which lies opposite the ancient city of Babylon (بابل), on the Euphrates river.
The ancient city of Babylon, in present-day Babylon Province was the capital of ancient Babylonia, situated on the Euphrates river south of Baghdad, Iraq.[4]
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 (626–605 BC) and his successor and son Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) extended the Neo-Babylonian Empire over most of Western Asia.
In the year 1991, Babil Governorate was the center of a Shia uprising.
Babylon province is located between 32° to 33.25° north latitude and 44° to 45° east longitude.
The Babil Governorate is divided into four districts: