With profound delight, we are honored to announce the publication of the inaugural issue of the scientific journal Heritage of Southwest Asia (HSA) in the year 2024CE. This biannual journal, grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, is dedicated to advancing knowledge in the domains of cultural heritage, art, and architecture of Southwest Asia, while fostering connections with global scholarly discourses.

     The region of Southwest Asia, encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Anatolia, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf states, the Levant, the Armenian Highlands, and the South Caucasus, holds an unparalleled position in the annals of human civilization. As the cradle of ancient civilizations, major religions, and the birthplace of early arts and crafts, this region, with its remarkable ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and climatic diversity, has consistently provided a dynamic platform for the creation, exchange, and evolution of cultural heritage, traditional arts, and architectural forms.

     Despite the existence of specialized journals in this cultural sphere, there remains a pressing need for an international, interdisciplinary publication that operates with a regional focus and establishes a cohesive linkage between tangible and intangible heritage, art, and architecture. The HSA journal, by emphasizing this cultural nexus, facilitates a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the region’s cultural capacities and expands opportunities for scholarly collaboration among researchers in these fields. The journal covers a wide array of disciplines, including archaeology, conservation and restoration, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, traditional arts, and the history of art and architecture both pre- and post-Islamic periods.

     To ensure academic rigor and thematic coherence given the journal’s broad topical and regional scope, HSA employs several strategic measures: engaging guest editors by inviting distinguished experts to oversee thematic special issues; publishing special issues focused on priority interdisciplinary topics pertinent to the region; forming an editorial board with diverse expertise and geographic representation; developing precise author guidelines to maintain content consistency; and prioritizing innovative technological approaches to address contemporary challenges in heritage documentation and analysis.

     In pursuit of transparency and open access, the journal is published under a fully open-access model, with a double-blind peer-review process involving at least two expert reviewers, adhering to the international principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and regulations for preventing academic misconduct. The primary languages of the journal are Persian and English, with each article accompanied by a standardized abstract in the secondary language. Articles are assigned Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and disseminated through reputable indexing databases, reflecting our commitment to both efficiency and quality in the publication process.

     With the aspiration that Heritage of Southwest Asia Journal fulfills its mission to preserve and promote the invaluable legacy of the region, we cordially invite scholars, experts, and postgraduate students conducting research on the tangible and intangible heritage of Southwest Asia to contribute original and review articles to enrich this journal. For detailed information on article types and submission guidelines, please refer to the “Author Guidelines” section on the journal’s website. Heritage of Southwest Asia warmly welcomes scholarly perspectives within its specialized scope, aiming to serve as a vibrant platform for advancing academic discourse in this field.