The rich culture of the ancient Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian
kingdoms of Persia combined with the newly introduced and flourishing
Islamic religion from the seventh century AD on to produce a
distinctive and unique Iranian amalgamation. As in the past,
its art, architecture, literature and political history yet continue
to exert influences on surrounding lands and are still vital
in today's world. Thus the sites listed below were chosen for
their utility in providing accurate narrative (either brief or
extensive) information as well as directories and more extensive
portal pages concerning not only all aspects of Iranian life
and culture but also materials on other countries and peoples
of the region . Many of these sites originate within Iran and,
as with all the countries of this area, are often not available.
We recommend that if you have difficulty in connecting, you try
again. From 1979 on, the date of the Iranian Revolution and overthrow
of the last Shah's regime, an ever-growing Iranian expatriate
community was created around globe. Many of the following websites
stem from these older and newer Iranian diasporan communities.
For Library of Congress contact information and materials, consult
the Iran Country page http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/nes/cty/cir/cirhome.html The
Library of Congress Online Catalog http://catalog.loc.gov/ and
a newly-mounted portal page on International Terrorism http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/terrorism/terrorism.html.
To track bills and other Congressional materials having to do
with the topic consult the Library's Thomas Legislative Information
page http://thomas.loc.gov.
Ankaboot (http://www.ankaboot.com)
A comprehensive English language portal index of Iranian websites collated by
numerous subject headings.
CIA-The
World Factbook-Iran (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.htmlgeos/ir.html)
The CIA Factbook, an annual publication of the CIA, contains up-to-date information
on all aspects of the political, social and military history of a particular
country. It is often, faute de mieux, the best narrative source on such topics.
Center
for Middle Eastern Studies (University of Texas): Iran (http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/Countries%5Fand%5FRegions/Iran/)
This academic portal page, although updated infrequently, nonetheless furnishes
important links and discussions on all aspects of Iranian history, politics,
culture, news and society.
Cyberiran (http://www.cyberiran.com)
English language portal page to the arts, society, government and culture of
Iran.
Encyclopedia.com (http://www.encyclopedia.com)
From the Electronic Library, searching the Encyclopedia.com by country provides
numerous narrative articles on its history, culture, politics.
FarsiNet (http://www.farsinet.com)
This multi-language, though principally in Farsi and English, international portal
page for Iranians [‘A Persian Iranian Farsi Speaking People Global eCommunity]
provides a broad spectrum of links relating to all aspects of Iranian history,
society, religion, literature and culture.
Gooya (http://www.gooya.com)
This international portal provides links to English, French and Farsi media pages.
Included are electronic newspapers, radio & TV, daily and periodical sites.
The Gulf / 2000 Project - SIPA -
Columbia University (http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/)
This site was developed by the Gulf/2000 Project at the School of International
and Public Affairs of Columbia University in New York City. It is designed to
make available in a single location a wealth of information on the eight countries
of the Persian Gulf region--Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
and the United Arab Emirates. Click on a flag above to visit one of these countries.
Infoplease.com (http://www.infoplease.com)
Part of the electronic Learning Network, this homepage allows searches by country
which yield articles in almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical works,
etc. Additional reference links are provided as well.
Iran-A Country Study (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html)
Though published in 1987, this product of the Library of Congress' Federal
Research Division nonetheless provides, inter alia, useful narrative accounts
of the history, geography, demography, and culture of Iran.
Islamic Calendar
Converter (http://www.oriold.unizh.ch/static/hegira.html )
This English language website not only converts the present Gregorian date, in
common use in the West, to its modern Hijra equivalent (in common use in the
Islamic World), it also provides a mechanism, based on software developed by
Waleed A. Muhanna, to convert all past dates from Gregorian-Hijra or Hijra-Gregorian.
Princeton University
Library: Near Eastern Studies Resources (http://www.princeton.edu/%7Epressman/neareast.htm)
Princeton Library's site dedicated to Near Eastern Studies provides not
only invaluable information about Princeton's programs and collections,
but also extensive links to sites (libraries, universities, institutes, think
tanks, directories, gateways, newspapers, etc.) around the world concerning all
aspects of the discipline.
U.S. Department of State (http://state.gov/)
Numerous documents concerning, inter alia, diplomatic and international relations,
travel advice and warnings relating to the countries of the world are available
on the State Department's official site by searching under a particular
country's name.
United Nations (http://www.un.org)
Using the search capabilities of the official site of the United Nations provides
articles, reports, etc. in several languages on all aspects of the initiatives
and mission of that organization as well as on the contemporary life, culture,
society, international relations, etc. of all the countries and peoples of the
world.
United Nations (http://www.un.org/)
Title from home page (viewed Dec. 13, 1999).
WeatherHub (http://www.weatherhub.com/global/)
An English language home page mounted Reentz Data Systems providing links to
sites offering international weather information by city.
Worldskip.com (http://www.worldskip.com/)
A search by country in this website yields basic narrative information about
it. |