"When we come to the Babylonian Gemara, we are dealing with what most people understand when they speak or write of the Talmud. 

Its birthplace, Babylonia, was an autonomous Jewish centre for a longer period than any other land; namely, from soon after 586 before the Christian era to the year 1040 after the Christian era - 1626 years." 

(Rabbi Hertz, English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, the Soncino Talmud (1935), p. XXI, Rabbi Hertz).