Where is Babylon located?

The ruins of Babylon are located in Hillah, Babil Governate, Iraq. This puts it about 59 miles, or 94 kilometers, southwest of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. There are other cities named Babylon in New York, Illinois, the Czech Republic and Egypt.

At first, Babylon was merely a minor stop along the Euphrates River, but it began to grow into prominence under rulers such as Hammurabi, who established an empire there in the second millennium B.C., and Nebuchadnezzar, who created a strong new empire there in the sixth century B.C. Decline set in after Alexander the Great conquered the city, and eventually it was just a dusty ruin until an upsurge in interest from European explorers in the 19th century.