History and nomenclature
The word Babylon means "gate of God" and it became after the fall of the Sumerian the base of Babylon Empire, established by Hammurabi the first legislature in human history, in about 2001 BC, it stretched from the Arab Gulf in the south to the Tigris river in the north, Hammurabi rule had lasted for 43 years during which Babylon civilization flourished where his era is the golden age of Iraq country, which boasted the Babylon Hanging Gardens one of the seven wonders and it had eight gates the most luxurious of which is the enormous "Ishtar gate" in which stands the Temple of Marduk within the fences in the square of religious great festival, located outside the city and was given several names by the ancients including (Babylonia) which means Babylon land between the two rivers and Mesopotamia, and Babylon was named relative to (Babylon archeological city) which is situated near the governorate center, among its satellite districts: Hilla, Mahaweel, Maseeb and Hashemiyya.
Geography:
Its sloping lands rise toward the south about 35°m, above the sea level, dominated by a desert climate characterized by low rainfall, high temperatures in summer that might reach 50ºc, and dominated by a warm weather in winter.
Census of 1920 AD
The census conducted by the authorities before April 1920 states that the total population of Hilla province (Babylon governorate now), was 175,000 people. However, population was distributed according to the following religious communities:
Muslim, Shiite/155,897 people
Muslim, Sunni/15,983 people
Christians/27 people
Other religions/28 people
On the other hand, half of Babylon area, generally speaking, is dominated with Arab Shiite majority, Shiites concentrate in the city of Hilla and south of Babylon governorate, while Arab Sunni form the majority in the governorate northern part, especially after the transfer of Mahmudiyya district and some cities and towns from Baghdad governorate zone into Babylon governorate, whilst there are many mixed–density areas in the governorate, especially in the middle.
In the year 2003, Babylon population came to 1,300,000 people, nevertheless after the transfer of Mahmudiyya district population number increased by half a million to become 1,800,000 people.
Among the most important Babylon governorate cities:
Hilla (617,763 people)
Maseeb (100,939 people)
Mahaweel (65,812 people)
Hashemiyya (60,269 people)
Alexandria (140,000 people)
Mahmudiyya (200,000 people)
Yusufiyya (85,000 people)
Latifiyya (85,000 people)
Mashru' (40,000 people)
Rashid (45,000 people)
Jurf-al-Sakhr (85,000 people)
Source: http://www.v90v.com/forums/t27049.html