HILLAH  , a

town of Asiatic Turkey, in the pashalik of Bagdad, 6o m . S. of the city of Bagdad, in 32° 28' 35" N., 44 48' 401" E., formerly the capital of a sanjak and the residence of a mutasserif, who in 1893 was transferred to Diwanieh . It is situated on both banks of the Euphrates, the two parts of the town being connected by a floating bridge, 450 ft. in length, in the midst of a very fertile district . The estimated population, which includes a large number of Jews, varies from 6000 to 12,000 . The town has suffered much from the periodical breaking of the Hindieh dam and the consequent deflection of the waters of the Euphrates to the westward, as a result of which at times the Euphrates at this point has been entirely dry . This deflection of water has also seriously interfered with the palm groves, the cultivation of which constitutes a large part of the industry of the surrounding country along the river . The bazaars of Hillah are relatively large and well supplied . Many of the houses in the town are built of brick, not a few bearing an inscription of Nebuchadrezzar, obtained from the ruins of Babylon, which lie less than an hour away to the north .