Imperial Cults: Religion and Politics in the Early Han and Roman Empires

Imperial Cults is a comparative study of the transformation of imperial religion and imperial authority in the early Han and Roman empires.During the reigns of the Emperor Wu of Han and Octavian Augustus of Rome, the rulers undertook substantial reforms to their respective systems of cult, at a time when they were re-shaping the idea of imperial authority and consolidating their own power.The changes made to religious institutions during their reigns show how these reforms were a fundamental part of the imperial consolidation.Employing a comparative methodology the author discusses some of the common strategies employed by the two rulers in order to centre religious and political authority around themselves.Both rulers incorporated new men from outside of the established court elite to serve in their religious institutions and as advisors, thus weakening the authority of those who had traditionally held it.They both expanded the reach of their imperially-sponsored cult, and refashioned