Qum: the evolution of a medieval city

The history of Qum exhibits a number of features common to urban and rural life in central Persia over the centuries. It also contains features which differentiate it from other towns. Today it is known as a shrine town, but this has not always been its exclusive character. It has had a complex and varied history. In medieval times it was not distinguished from the countryside around it by the existence of a civic identity, any more than were other cities. It bore the same name as the surrounding region. Qum designated both the city and the province of which it was the centre and from which it was not administratively distinct.