Babil Governorate

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Pagename
native_name =Arabic: بابل


mapsize=200
settlement_type = Governorate
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Iraq
subdivision_type1 = Capital
subdivision_name1 = Al Hillah
latd=32 |latm=37 |latNS=N
longd=44 |longm=33 |longEW=E
population_as_of = 2003
population_total = 1,385,783
population_footnotes= [ [http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regions/south-central/provinces/english/babil.html Babil Province - CPA] ]
area_total_km2 = 5603
density_km2 =
blank_name=Main language(s)
blank_info= Arabic

Babil ( _ar. بابل) is a province in Iraq. It has an area of km2 to mi2|5603, 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: Salam Salih Mahdi al-Muslimawi [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2008.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/YYAA-7D957D-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf]
*Deputy Governor: Hassun Ali Hassun [http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/99769.pdf]
*Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Mohammed Ali [http://www.newsobserver.com/505/story/494341.html]

History

Before 1971 it was known as Hilla province. [ [http://www.statoids.com/uiq.html Provinces of Iraq - Statoids] ] The ancient city of Babylon in present-day Babil province was the capital of the Old Kingdom of Babylonia situated on the Euphrates River south of Baghdad in modern 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.

Recent DNA (Y chromosome) studies conducted by the National Geographic Magazine on the bones of ancient Babylonians and living people from Babil have shown that the modern peoples carry the same ancient Babylonian genetic material. [citeweb|url=http://java.nationalgeographic.com/studentatlas/clickup/mesopotamia.html|title=History: Mesopotamia |last=McCurry|first=Steve|publisher=National Geographic|date=2005-02-20|]

People

Yousefiah, with Al Askandariyah and Al latifiyah and Al-Mada'in and Jurf Al Sakhar and Al Muhaweel and Al Mahmudiyah in particular, is known that inhabited by Sunni majority. around 55% to 75% of the inhabitants of the province are Sunni Muslims from Dulaim tribe and other Sunni tribes. the rest of the inhabitants are Iraqi shias and also mostly from Dulaim tribe (Al-Fatla and Al-Bu Alwan).

Cities

* Al Hillah (500,000) — capital of Babil
* Al Askandariyah
* Al latifiyah (150,000)
* Salman Pak
* Yousefiah
* Musayyib
* Jurf Al Sakhar
* Al Muhaweel (212,000)

Districts

* Al-Mahawil District (Al-Mahawil)
* Al-Musayab District (Al-Musayab)
* Hashimiya District (Hashimiya)
* Hilla District (Hilla)

References