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Babylon Governorate

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Babil Governorate
Arabic: بابل
Governorate
Location of Babil Governorate
Country Iraq
CapitalAl Hillah
Area
 • Total5,603 km2 (2,163 sq mi)
Population
 (2003)[1]
 • Total1,385,783
Main language(s)Arabic

Babil ([بابل Bābil] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a province in central Iraq. It has an area of 5,603 square kilometres (2,163 sq mi), with an estimated population of 1,385,783 people in 2003.

The provincial capital is the town of Al Hillah. The city Al Musayyib and the ancient ruins of Babylon (Babil, after which the region is named) are also in the province.

Provincial Government

  • Governor: Muhammad Ali Al-Messoudi (Elected March 18th, 2011; 5th Governor of Babil)
  • Deputy Governor: Iskander Witwit
  • Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Kadhim Majid Tuman

History

Before 1971 it was known as Hilla province.[2] The ancient city of Babylon in present-day Babil province was the capital of the Old Kingdom of Babylonia situated on the Euphrates south of modern 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. This period was brought to an end by the Hittites when in 1595 BC Babylon is sacked by King Mursili I.

The city then had a mixed history until the Neo-Babylonian Period of the 7th-6th centuries BC. It once again achieved pre-eminence when Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC) extended the Chaldean Empire over most of Western Asia. Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC; occupation continued in the Achaemenid Period.

The city was taken by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.

More than five years after the start of the Iraq War, governance of Babil Province was returned to Iraq on 23 October 2008.[3] The ceremony took place between local representatives, representatives from Baghdad, and the US Army represented by Lieutenant-General Lloyd Austin.[3]

Cities

Districts

See also

References

  1. ^ Babil Province - CPA
  2. ^ Provinces of Iraq - Statoids
  3. ^ a b Staff (2008) "Iraq takes control of a 12th province from the occupation forces" Monday Morning: The Weekly News Magazine (Beirut, Lebanon) (27 October 2008), retrieved 28 October 2008
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