Babil Governorate or Babylon Province (Arabic:محافظة بابلMuḥāfaẓa Bābil) is a governorate in central Iraq. It has an area of 5,119 square kilometres (1,976sqmi), with an estimated population of 1,651,565 people in 2002. The provincial capital is the city of Hillah, which lies opposite the ancient city of Babylon (بابل), on the Euphrates river.