Hillah: Difference between revisions

| coordinates = {{Coord|32|2928|39|N|44|2625|53|E|region:IQ-BB_cityBB_type:city(456,000)|display=inline,title}}

'''Hillah''' ({{lang-ar|ٱلْحِلَّة}} ''al-Ḥillah''), also spelled '''Hilla''', is a city in central [[Iraq]] on the Hilla branch of the [[Euphrates River]], {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Baghdad]]. The population was estimated to be about 455,700 in 2018. It is the capital of [[Babylon Province]] and is located adjacent to the ancient city of [[Babylon]], and close to the ancient cities of [[Borsippa]] and [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]]. It is situated in a predominantly agricultural region which is extensively irrigated with water provided by the Hilla canal, producing a wide range of crops, fruit and textiles. Its name may be derived from the word "beauty" in Arabic. The river runs exactly in the middle of the town, and it is surrounded by date palm trees and other forms of arid vegetation, reducing the harmful effects of dust and desert wind.

It became a major administrative centre during the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and [[British Empire]]s. In the 19th century, the Hilla branch of the Euphrates started to silt up and much agricultural land was lost to drought, but this process was reversed by the construction of the [[Hindiya Barrage]] in 1911–1913, which diverted water from the deeper Hindiya branch of the Euphrates into the Hilla canal.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Money|first=Robert I.|title=The Hindiya Barrage, Mesopotamia|journal=The Geographical Journal|year=1917|volume=50|issue=3|pages=217–222|jstor=1779909|doi=10.2307/1779909|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1449322}}<!--|access-date=22 July 2010--></ref> It saw heavy fighting in 1920 during an [[Iraqi revolt of 1920|uprising against the British]], when 300 men of the [[Manchester Regiment]] were apparentlyw defeated in the city.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}

Hillah is located near the ruins of ancient Babylon. It is likely that Babylon was founded in the third millennium BC and rose to prominence over the next thousand years. By the 18th century BC the city was the centre of the empire of [[Hammurabi]]. Various empires controlled Babylon over the following centuries. Babylon briefly regained independence during the [[Neo-Babylonian empire]] towards the end of the 7th century BC, most notably under the reign of king [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], but came under brief Persian occupation in the 6th century BC.

Hillah has a rich cultural history and is widely publishedmentioned in history books, literature, geography, and biographies. The single most famous medieval Shia theologian, Allamah Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Hasan [[Allamah Al-Hilli|al-Hilli]] iswas a native sonof Hillah. It was chosen as the cultural capital of Iraq in 2008 because of its large cultural gatherings and art galleries, as well as the many talents in all fields of culture and art, particularly poetry, writing, music and vocals.

And manyMany well known [[Iraqi literature|Iraqi writers]] have written about itthe city, including: Mr. Abdul-Razzaq al-Husseini, Abd al-Qadir al-Zahawi, Mohammad Mehdi Aljawahiri, [[Safa Khulusi#Literary history of Ma.27ruf al-Rusafi|Rusafi]], Sahtia AlHasri, Dr. Fadel Aljamali, Thi Alnun Ayoub, Dr Ali Jawad Tahir, and [[Ahmad al-Safi al-Najafi]].

Many writers, poets, and artists have also come from Hillah, including: Sharif Alrhdi, Dheyaa Hamio, Saifuddin Al-Hilly, Mohammed Mahdi Albasir, Ali Jawad Tahir, archaeologistarchaeologists Ahmed Sosa, [[Taha BaqerBaqir]], and Ahmed Saeed.