where was babylon

Babylon was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Iraq. Its ruins are situated about 55 to 85 kilometers (about 53 to 55 miles) south of modern-day Baghdad, near the town of Hillah or Al-Ḥillah, Iraq. Babylon was a major cultural and political center of the Babylonian region and empire in antiquity, thriving primarily from the early 2nd millennium BCE to the early 1st millennium BCE and again during the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. The city sat on both banks of the Euphrates River and was known for its impressive architecture, including temples, palaces, and the famous Ishtar Gate. Today, the site of Babylon is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Iraq.