Understanding the role of 將 in a sentence
Is the 將 here the written equivalent of 把


Yes, and it's more formal than 把. According to the context, especially "屏退拉車手", "親自將姜尚請回都城" indicates that "周文王" pulled the cart by himself; while "周文王親自請姜子牙與他回都城" doesn't have such intent strongly. With the usage of "將" (or "把"), the object of the action, "姜尚" (and then the action, "親自拉車") gets emphasized.