Qom (Persie: قم, an aa kent as Q'um or Ghom) is a ceety in Iran. It lies 156 kilometres (97 mi) bi road soothwast o Tehran an is the caipital o Qom Province. It haes an estimatit population of 1,042,309 in 2005. It is situatit on the banks o the Qom River.
Qom is considered holy bi Shi`a Islam, as it is the site o the shrine o Fatema Mæ'sume, sister o Imam `Ali ibn Musa Rida (Persian Imam Reza, 789–816 AD). The ceety is the lairgest center for Shi'a scholarship in the warld, an is a significant destination o pilgrimage.
Qom as an urban settlement existit in the pre-Islamic ages. Architectural discoveries indicate that Qom wis a residential aurie frae the 5t millennium BC. Pre-Islamic remainin relics an historical texts point tae the fact o Qom being a lairge regional ceety. Kum wis kent tae be the name o this auncient ceety, thus, the incomin 7t century Arabs cried it Qom durin the conquests o Iran.
Durin the caliphate o ʻUmar ibn al-Khattāb, the aurie o Qom fell tae the invadin Arab airmies o Islam. In 645 AD, Abu Musa Ash'ari an aa dispatched forces unner his command tae the aurie. Conflicts resultit atween the incomin Arab airmy an the residents o the aurie.
In Seljuki times, the ceety flourished as well. Durin the Mongol invasion o Persie the ceety witnessed widespread destruction, but efter the Mongol rulin dynasty, an aa kent as the Ilkhanate, convertit tae Islam durin the reign o Öljeitü (Persian Muhammad Khudabænde), the ceety received special attention, thus unnergoin a revival ance mair.
In the late 14t century, the ceety wis plundered bi Tamerlane an the inhabitants wur massacred. But durin the periods o rule o the Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu an especially durin the reign o the Safavids, Qom gained special attention an gradually developed due tae its releegious shrine.
By 1503 Qom became one of the important centers of theology in relation to the Shia Islam, and became a significant religious pilgrimage site and pivot.
The ceety suffered hivy damages again durin the Afghan invasions, resultin in consequent severe economic haurdships. Qom further sustained damages durin the reigns o Nadir Shah an the conflicts atween the twa hoosehaulds o Zandieh an Qajariyeh in order tae gain pouer ower Iran.
Finally in 1793 Qom came unner the control o Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar. On being victorious ower his enemies, the Qajar Sultan Fæteh Æli Shah wis responsible for the repairs done on the sepulchre an Holy Shrine o Hæzræt Mæ'sume, as he haed made such a vou.
The ceety o Qom began anither era o prosperity in the Qajar era. After Russian forces entered Karaj in 1915, many of the inhabitants of Tehran moved to Qom due to reasons of proximity, and the transfer of the capital from Tehran to Qom was even discussed. But the British and Russians defeated prospects of the plan by putting Ahmad Shah Qajar under political pressure. Coinciding with this period, a "National Defense Committee" was set up in Tehran, and Qom turned into a political and military apex opposed to the Russian and British colonial powers.
As a center o releegious learnin Qom fell intae decline for aboot a century frae 1820 tae 1920, but haed a resurgence when Shaykh Abdul Karim Haeri Yazdi acceptit an invitation tae move frae Sultanabad (nou cried Arak, Iran), whaur he haed been teachin, tae Qom.
In 1964 an 65, afore his exile frae Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini led his opposition tae the Pahlavi dynasty frae Qom. Efter the Islamic revolution in 1979, Khomeini an aa spent some time in the ceety afore an efter movin tae Tehran.
Today, Qom is coontit as ane o the focal centers o the Shi'a baith in Iran an aroond the globe. Since the revolution the clerical population haes risen frae aroond 25,000 tae mair than 45,000 an the nonnclerical population haes mair than tripled tae aboot 700,000. Substantial sums o money in the form of alms an Islamic taxes flow intae Qom tae the ten marja-i taqlid or "Source o Imitation" that reside there. The number o seminary schools in Qom is nou ower 50, an the number o research institutes an libraries somewhere near 250.
Its theological center an the Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine are prominent features o the provincial caipital o Qom province. Anither vera popular releegious site o pilgrimage umwhile ootside the ceety o Qom but nou mair o a suburb is cried Jamkaran.
Qom's proximity tae Tehran, Iran's caipital, haes alloued the clerical establishment easy access tae monitor the affairs an decisions o the state. Mony grand ayatollahs hauld offices in baith Tehran an Qom; mony fowk simply commute atween the twa ceeties as they are anerlie 156 km apairt.
Sootheast o Qom is the auncient ceety o Kashan. Directly sooth o Qom lie the touns o Delijan, Mahallat, Naraq, Kahak, an Jasb. The surroondin aurie tae the east o Qom is populatit bi Tafresh, Saveh, an Ashtian and Jafarieh.
