To begin with, it is important to understand the historical context of the Roman Empire from the late 3rd century to the early 4th century C.E. The Emperor Diocletian ruled from 284 C.E. to 305 C.E. He was responsible for the development of the tetrarchy that the Emperor Galerius eventually became a part of. The tetrarchy was a form of governing where two Augustus’ served as heads of two sides of the empire, each with his own Caesar to rule alongside him (Wasson 2014). The Caesar was meant to succeed the Augustus should anything happen to him. The splitting of the Roman Empire made it easier to rule such a large area. Diocletian ruled as Augustus in the east and eventually made Galerius his Caesar (Wasson 2014).

            When Diocletian abdicated from his position, in the year 305 C.E., as Emperor of the Roman Empire, Galerius succeeded him as Augustus of the East (Wasson 2014). Around this time, Galerius began to build the palace of Felix Romuliana (Živić, “Felix Romuliana”). The palace was located in the heart of the Balkans in modern day Gamzigrad, situated on the Eastern side of the Roman Empire where Galerius ruled. Diocletian was Galerius’ step-father, but it was his mother he was most fond of. Her name was Romula and the palace Galerius built was named after her (Spehar). His mother and step-father both worshipped many different gods (Roman and Greek) and therefore so did Galerius. The god Galerius was most fond of, however, was the god Dionysos.