Submissions

Author Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS TO ARYS

1. ARYS has been published since 1998 and has followed an annual schedule since 2010. All submitted articles undergo a double-blind peer review process by external reviewers. The Editorial Board does not alter the views expressed by the authors, nor does it take responsibility for the content of the articles or the review reports.

2. The ARYS Editorial Board welcomes the submission of original, unpublished research articles focused on religious and social issues in antiquity. Studies should fall within the geographical scope of the circum-Mediterranean and Near Eastern world, including regions that were historically interconnected with this area. As for the chronological framework, submissions will be considered if they cover the period from the Bronze Age (approximately 3500 BCE) to the formation of Islam. Preference will be given to contributions that explore novel topics, offer new and deeper perspectives on questions already addressed in the historiography, present and analyse previously unpublished data related to specific historiographical problems, and/or apply new or improved methodologies.

3. Languages

ARYS accepts articles written in Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. Manuscripts must be submitted in grammatically correct and appropriate academic language, including the abstracts. Improper syntax or spelling may constitute grounds for rejection.

4. Guidelines for the writing and style of scientific articles

Articles must be between a minimum of 3,000 words and a maximum of 25,000 words in length, including notes and bibliography. They must be submitted in both Word and PDF formats and comply with the following formatting requirements: Times New Roman font; Unicode font for Classical Greek; font size 12 for the main text and 10 for footnotes; first-line indentation for each paragraph; single line spacing. Notes should appear as footnotes, never as endnotes. Internal divisions and subdivisions of the text must be indicated using Arabic numerals only, without combining letters or Roman numerals. Subdivisions should follow a decimal structure separated by periods (e.g., section 1; first subdivision: 1.1; second subdivision: 1.2, etc.).

Authors are encouraged, wherever possible, to include a description of the methodology employed in their research.

5. Abstract and keywords

Each article must include: a title, an abstract of up to 1,700 characters including spaces, and a maximum of ten keywords. These three elements must be provided both in the article's original language (see point 3) and in English. If the article is written in English, the translated version must be in Spanish.

In addition to appearing in the body of the article, the title, abstract, and keywords must be entered as metadata in the OJS system (see instruction no. 15).

6. Supplementary materials

Tables, graphs, figures, and maps intended for inclusion in the article must be submitted separately and numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Each item must be accompanied by a caption and a source reference, which should be italicised and in font size 10, included in a list compiling all images. Images must have a minimum resolution of 300 pixels and should preferably be submitted in JPG format.

The author declares that any graphic material submitted is free of copyright restrictions and its source is appropriately cited in the text. If the material is subject to copyright or reproduction rights, the necessary permissions must be provided in a separate file.

7. Writing and style guidelines for book reviews

Reviews must be between a minimum of 1,000 words and a maximum of 7,000 words. They must follow the same formatting requirements as scientifc articles.

8. Recommendations for the use of inclusive language

ARYS is committed to combating all forms of discrimination based on sex or gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, ideology, or belief. The journal supports research that is accurate, free from bias, stereotypes, or prejudice linked to these variables, and attentive to the complexity and breadth of the social, cultural, economic, and biological contexts under study.

Accordingly, manuscripts submitted to the journal must employ inclusive language that treats all individuals with equal respect and avoids the stigmatisation or marginalisation of any person or group. Authors should refrain from using labels that depict groups as separate from society, as this contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes, and they should avoid condescending terminology, particularly when referring to persons with disabilities. Concerning ethnicity, essentialist views, references to “minorities,” and biased group comparisons are inappropriate. Likewise, it is not acceptable to provide personal information irrelevant to the research, nor to disregard the specific characteristics and differences of research subjects when such factors exist and may affect the study’s outcomes.

9. Recommendations for the use of non-sexist language

As part of the commitment to gender equality and the visibility of women in scientific production, the concealment of women behind the use of initials in bibliographic citations will be avoided. Instead, the full names (first name and surname) of authors—both women and men—will be provided, as well as avoiding concealment through the use of the generic masculine.

The use of the generic masculine, recognized by the Royal Spanish Academy as an unmarked gender for collective references, is not always inappropriate or discriminatory. Its use is valid and avoids a sexist interpretation if, for example, the person or persons referred to are also explicitly named, thereby clarifying its universal meaning (e.g., ritual agents, men and women, performed different functions in the sacrifice). Nevertheless, in place of the generic masculine, priority should be given to inclusive linguistic forms that include and make visible women and non-binary individuals.

For example, the use of generic or epicene nouns (person, subject, individual, character, member, etc.), collective nouns (citizenship, student body, team), and abstract nouns (archaeology instead of archaeologist, authorship instead of author, direction instead of director) is recommended. Periphrastic expressions and noun phrases also encourage more egalitarian forms (research staff instead of researcher; fellowship holder instead of fellow), as do gender-neutral pronouns: neutral forms rather than pronouns accompanied by a masculine or feminine article (who instead of he who or she who); and generic forms—pronouns without gender marking—in place of indefinite pronouns (instead of one, it would be preferable to use someone or no one). Adjectives without gender marking are also preferable (for example, different rather than “different [masculine and feminine forms]”; distinguished, eminent, excellent, renowned rather than “prestigious” in gendered forms; any or each instead of all, etc.).

Impersonal constructions may also be used, as well as the omission of the subject and the use of the first-person plural. It is advisable to replace passive verbs with active verbs or impersonal constructions with “se”.

Double forms (e.g., feminine and masculine pairs) should be used cautiously and not excessively, as they may reduce linguistic economy and the fluency of reading. When they are used, it is advisable to alternate the feminine and masculine forms in the first position throughout the text.

When referring to a group composed of women and men, both feminine and masculine forms should be used, beginning with the feminine if it is known that the group is composed predominantly of women, and vice versa; if the proportion of men and women is unknown, either gender may be placed first.

These recommendations do not, of course, exhaust the range of possibilities available for avoiding sexism in language. For further information and examples, we recommend consulting the Guía de comunicación no sexista (Madrid: Aguilar, 2011; new edition 2021), published by the Cervantes Institute; the Guía para un lenguaje no sexista de la lengua of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2019); and the document Buenas prácticas para el tratamiento del lenguaje en igualdad of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2016).

For papers written in English, we refer to the guidelines for non-sexist language use published by the American Phylosophical Association.

10. Bibliographic citation

Bibliographic references must follow the APA citation style, as outlined in detail at the following link: http://uc3m.libguides.com/guias_tematicas/citas_bibliograficas/APA.

However, as part of its editorial commitment to gender equality, ARYS adopts a modification of standard APA citation guidelines by requiring the full given names of authors, rather than initials only, in bibliographic references (see point no. 9).

11. Citation of primary sources

Literary sources should be cited using internationally recognised abbreviations, such as those found in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, or the Diccionario Griego-Español.

Epigraphic sources should likewise follow internationally accepted abbreviations, such as those listed in the Liste des abréviations des éditions et ouvrages de référence pour l’épigraphie grecque alphabétique (available at: https://aiegl.org/grepiabbr.html), the Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, or the Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby database.

12. Information on research funding policy

At the beginning of each article, a footnote must identify the agencies or institutions that have funded the research, along with the corresponding project code. This information must also be uploaded as metadata within the OJS (Open Journal Systems) platform (see point 15).

13. Personal data

During the registration process on the OJS platform (see point no. 15), authors must provide their full name, institutional affiliation, ORCID code, postal address, and contact email. These details must also appear in the article itself.

In the case of jointly authored works, the authorship order must be clearly specified, and each author's individual contribution to the article's content must be detailed.

14. Copyright and editorial policy

Publication in ARYS does not entail any form of financial remuneration. Authors retain copyright over their texts and all rights to publish without restrictions. See the journal’s open access policy for further information: https://e-revistas.uc3m.es/index.php/ARYS/about#acercade2.

15. Submission guidelines for manuscripts

Manuscripts must be submitted through the OJS (Open Journal Systems) platform, which can be accessed via the ARYS journal website, hosted on the portal of the Library Service of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid: www.uc3m.es/arys.

To facilitate the use of the system, a detailed guide on the submission process is available at the following link: https://docs.pkp.sfu.ca/learning-ojs/3.1/es/authoring.

Manuscripts must be submitted in both Word and PDF format, along with any supplementary files necessary for their evaluation.

16. Editorial workflow

Upon receipt of a manuscript submitted for publication, the Editorial Board of ARYS conducts an initial assessment of its suitability. At this stage, the Board may decide to reject the manuscript if it presents, in a clearly evident manner, serious scholarly deficiencies, a lack of alignment with the journal’s aims and scope, or any other reason that justifies non-publication.

If the article passes this preliminary review, it is subjected to plagiarism screening using the tool provided by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. If the article passes this check, the journal’s Secretariat forwards it to the Editorial Committee, which has a period of six weeks to either reject it or approve its referral for external peer review. A quorum is considered valid when at least one-third of the Committee members participate in the decision.

If the Committee opts for external review, its members must propose potential reviewers, from whom the Editors will select the primary referees. If additional reviewers are required, the Co-editors may act ex officio. The Co-editors are also responsible for managing the entire peer review process: contacting reviewers, sending the manuscript and the review form, receiving the reports, and communicating with the Secretariat.

Once the evaluation reports are received—provided they do not recommend outright rejection—the Secretariat will forward them to the author, setting a deadline for submitting a revised version of the article that incorporates the suggested changes. Upon receipt of the revised version, the Secretariat will send it, along with the original manuscript and the reviewers’ reports, to the Editors, who will make the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection. The author will be notified of this decision.

Finally, once the volume is typeset with all accepted articles, the Secretariat will contact the authors again to send the final proofs, which must be reviewed and returned within the indicated deadline. Upon completion of this step, the article will be published.