Evocatio Invited Enemy Gods Away

The Romans practiced a siege ritual called "evocatio," formally inviting an enemy city's guardian deity to abandon it for the Roman side, usually with the promise of a better-endowed cult or more lavish temple. The ritual doubled as psychological warfare by threatening the enemy's sense of divine protection while also mitigating the otherwise sacrilegious looting of religious images after conquest. One recorded example occurred at Veii in 396 BC, when the Romans transferred the cult of Juno Regina to Rome.

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