Note 22 — RESIDENCE AT BAGDAD. (continued 2)

Hillah is a small town on the river Euphrates, a little below the ruins of Babylon. It was built in the year 495 of the Hegira, or 1115 of the Christian era, in a district called by the natives El Aredh Babel; its population does not exceed between 6 and 7000, consisting of Arabs and Jews, there being no Christians, and only such Turks as are employed in the Government. The inhabitants bear a very bad character. The air is salubrious, and the soil extremely fertile, producing great quantities of rice, dates, and grain of different kinds, though it is not cultivated to above half the degree of which it is susceptible,—See Mr. Rich’s Memoirs on the Ruins of Babylon.—Editor.