The Nabataean capital of Petra, an important trade center before the third century BCE, continued to thrive in trade until at least the second century CE, and was not entirely abandoned until at least the sixth century. In 106 CE, the Nabataean kingdom was formally annexed by the Roman Empire. Excavation of a building called the Small Temple of Petra revealed a structure that was almost certainly a temple, albeit one of Roman design. Reid proposes that not only was the Small Temple Roman in design, but that it was an imperial cult building, dedicated to the worship of the Roman emperors as gods, constructed in Petra after its annexation. The presence of an imperial cult building in the Nabataean capital city would have assisted the Romans in solidifying their hold on the newly annexed kingdom. By placing a physical representation of the newly arrived Roman authority, the residents of Petra could not help but have been reminded on a regular basis of their change in status.

In this book, Reid systematically examines the evidence used to support the identification of the Small Temple as an imperial cult building through the discussion of its prominent use of marble, a material with Roman imperial associations. Marble, not locally available in Petra, was not generally favored by the client kingdoms in the east, and had been almost entirely monopolized by the bureaucracy of the Roman Empire. The analysis of architectural evidence, as well as the placement of the Small Temple within the city, also support this identification.