This volume presents the proceedings of the fifth workshop of the international thematic network 'Impact of Empire', which concentrates on the history of the Roman Empire, c. 200 B.C. - A.D. 476, and, under the chairmanship of Lukas de Blois and Olivier Hekster (University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands), brings together ancient historians, archaeologists, classicists and specialists on Roman law from some 28 European and North American universities. The fifth volume focuses on the impact of imperial Rome on religions, ritual and religious life in the Roman Empire. The following topics are...

Destruction of temples and their transformation into churches are central symbols of late antique change in religious environment, socio-political system, and public perception. Contemporaries were aware of these events' far-reaching symbolic significance and of their immediate impact as demonstrations of political power and religious conviction. Joined in any "temple-destruction" are the meaning of the monument, actions taken, and subsequent literary discourse. Paradigms of perception, specific interests, and forms of expression of quite various protagonists clashed. Archaeologists,...

Mit dem Prozess der Christianisierung entstand im Romischen Reich eine neue Art der gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzung: das religios motivierte Vorgehen gegen Orte, Objekte oder Personen. Die radikalste Form dieser Aggression wandte sich gegen Heiligtumer des religiosen Gegners - Tempel, Synagogen oder Kirchengebaude. Die Folgen waren einschneidend: Der Angriff auf Kultorte forderte den Einsatz aller Institutionen des Reiches, vom Kaiser bis zu den stadtischen Eliten. Mit der Machtverschiebung auf lokaler Ebene gelang es Bischofen und religiosen Charismatikern, sich neben der Administration als...

Destruction of temples and their transformation into churches are central symbols of late antique change in religious environment, socio-political system, and public perception. Contemporaries were aware of these events' far-reaching symbolic significance and of their immediate impact as demonstrations of political power and religious conviction. Joined in any "temple-destruction" are the meaning of the monument, actions taken, and subsequent literary discourse. Paradigms of perception, specific interests, and forms of expression of quite various protagonists clashed. Archaeologists,...