Qom

The precise origin of the name is unclear. There are multiple theories: Some researchers consider the old name of Qom to be Komiran. The first element would reflect the word kom 'city', while the second element would be shared by Shemiran (near Tehran), Tehran, Chamran (in Saveh areas), and Iran. The full name would then be equivalent to 'Iran city'. According to the 10th-century book Tarikh-i Qum (literally 'History of Qom'), the name of the city comes from the word koomeh (Persian: کومه), which literally means 'hut'. On this view, the name referred to the basic dwelling of the local shepherds and farmers, who made their houses out of much reed that grew around the ford of Qom River.

The present city of Qom in Central Iran dates back to ancient times. Its pre-Islamic history can be partially documented, although the earlier epochs remain unclear. Excavations at Tepe Sialk indicate that the region had been settled since ancient times (Ghirshman and Vanden Berghe), and more recent surveys have revealed traces of large, inhabited places south of Qom, dating from the 4th and 1st millennium BC. In antiquity, the Qom region was a stronghold of the cult of Anahita, the Iranian goddess of fertility. André Godard has reported about an Anahita temple along the Qom River (Golshan River). A district called Taraznahid (Nahid is her Persian name), close to Qom, is also connected to the goddess. …

Qom, the capital of Qom province, is located 125 kilometers south of Tehran, on a low plain. The shrine of Fatimeh Masumeh, the sister of Imam Reza, is located in this city, which is considered by Shiʿa Muslims holy. The city is located in the boundary of the central desert of Iran (Kavir-e Markazi). At the 2011 census its population was 1,074,036, comprising 545,704 males and 528,332 females. Qom is a focal center of the Shiʿah. Since the revolution, the clerical population has risen from around 25,000 to more than 45,000 and the non-clerical population has more than tripled to about 700,000. Substantial sums of money in the form of alms and Islamic taxes flow into Qom to the ten Marja'-e taqlid or "Source to be Followed" that reside there. The number of seminary schools in Qom is now over 50, and the number of research institutes and libraries somewhere near 250. …

Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists 195 sites of historical and cultural significance in Qom. But the more visited sites of Qom are: Astaneh Moqaddaseh Museum (Qom Central Museum) Anthropology Museum Of Qom The Museum Of Traditional Arts The Museum Of Natural History & Wildlife The Museum Of Astronomy

Qom International Airport (under construction).

In the 2006 census, the city's population was 957,496, in 241,827 households. The 2011 census counted 1,074,036 people in 299,752 households. The 2016 census counted 1,201,158 people in 356,976 households.