The assessment and evaluation of values constitute fundamental concepts in cultural heritage conservation that have continually evolved within a developmental context, and a unified framework for their comprehensive definition has yet to be established. Rudkhan Castle, as one of the country’s prominent historic complexes, has not been recognized commensurately with its status; consequently, its values have not been systematically identified and appraised. This study investigates and evaluates the values of Rudkhan Castle from the perspective of the ICOFORT Charter and the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. It seeks to answer which specific values of Rudkhan Castle emerge within the framework of the eight criteria of the ICOFORT Charter, and to what extent these values are capable of aligning with UNESCO’s World Heritage cultural criteria and being proposed as Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The present research has been organized through a qualitative approach, employing an interpretive-historical method and logical argumentation based on archival and documentary studies.

Findings from mapping the eight value layers of ICOFORT onto the World Heritage cultural criteria demonstrate that the “architectural and technical values” of Rudkhan Castle exhibit the highest degree of correspondence with Criteria (i), (iii), (iv), and (v) of the World Heritage Convention, and the “cultural landscape value” also holds high potential for articulation in relation to Criterion (v). Meanwhile, “strategic values” align at a moderate level with Criteria (i), (iii), and (v), while “human-anthropological,” “memory and identity,” “historical,” and “socio-economic” values are justifiable primarily at national and regional scales. Consequently, the outstanding values of Rudkhan Castle possess the requisite attributes for nomination to the World Heritage List, anchored in the integration of technological values, defensive ingenuity, and organic interaction with the natural setting.