This town stands on a portion of the site of the ancient Babylon. It is situated about sixty miles to the south of Bagdad, on the western bank of the Euphrates. It is inclosed with a mud wall, and is said to have been built in the twelfth century, partly out of the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon. The land in the immediate neighbourhood is cultivated and fertile, and produces great quantities of rice, dates, and grain. This fertility is caused by the irrigation of the Euphrates, which here flows from two to two and a half miles an hour, and varies in breadth from 450 to 500 feet; and in spring, when it is in flood, is forty feet in depth. During six months of the year, the Euphrates is navigable as far as Hillah for flat-bottomed vessels not exceeding fifty tons burden. During the other six months the marshes of Lemloon entirely obstruct the commerce with Bassora; and but for this circumstance it would become the seat of a flourishing commerce. Hillah contains 12,000 inhabitants. A part of the town is situated on the eastern bank of the river, and is connected with the other by a bridge of boats, but is not nearly so extensive as that on the western bank. The town is well built, has an extensive and well-regulated bazar, several stately caravanserais built of the old Babylonian bricks, and numerous coffeehouses, along the bank of the river. It is governed by a magistrate deputed by the pasha. It is 48 miles to the south of Bagdad; 35 south-east of the Nahr-Malcha, at its junction with the Tigris, which is the site of Seleucia; and 130 miles west from Hit, a town on the Euphrates. Long. 44° 13. 15. E. Lat. 33° 34. N. See BABYLON.