For translation and explanation go here.

TODAY IS A DAY OF SOLIDARITY PROTESTS FOR FREEDOM IN IRAN. Others in the Blogosphere are far more on top of the situation in Iran and are commenting on it. See the Carnival of the Liberties at Winds of Change for a roundup. For my small contribution let me point out a few websites that cover Iranian history and antiquities, in the hope that one day soon Iranian and outside scholars and archaeologists will be able to study them together in a free Iran.

This site, "Iran: History (Pars Times)," has a very large collection of links on the history of Iran from antiquity to the present. It includes links to sites on Iranian religions, mythology, archaeology, museums, and learned societies devoted to Iranian studies. Most of them seem to be of good quality. Here are a few:

Iranian Museums

A huge list with some basic information, but unfortunately there are no links to museum websites.

National Museum of Iran

The material on this site is an excellent start, although there are lots of broken and missing links.

Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London)

This site contains lots of useful information by major scholars in the area but much of it is still under construction.

Apart from Pars-Times, another information-rich site is provided by Livius, which has a collection of short articles on ancient Persia. Farsinet (a site that seems to be aimed at Christian speakes of Farsi) has a page on Iranian and Persian History with some interesting information and links. Finally, have a look at the Persepolis and Ancient Iran exhibit from the Oriental Institute Photographic Archives and these images of artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Then there's this from Day by Day.