Al-Ḥillah

Al-Ḥillah, city, capital of Bābil muḥāfaẓah (governorate), central Iraq. It lies on the Al-Ḥillah Stream, the eastern branch of the Euphrates River, and on a road and a rail line running northward to Baghdad. The city was founded in the 10th century as Al-Jāmiʿayn (“Two Mosques”) on the east bank of the Euphrates. In the 12th century a new city was founded opposite on the west bank and in 1102 was called Al-Ḥillah. The city was on the pilgrimage route between Baghdad and Kūfah, then one of the most important cities in Iraq, venerated by Shīʿite Muslims as the site of the assassination of ʿAlī, the fourth caliph. Al-Ḥillah is now a prosperous river port and grain market. In the 19th century Al-Ḥillah Stream’s flow gradually decreased, restricting local agriculture, but the Al-Hindiyyah Barrage, built in 1913, diverted more water into the channel. The ruins of the ancient city of Babylon are nearby. Pop. (2018 est.) 455,000.