What attracts you to Late Rome?

[foojer]

I get what you mean about the post-Commodian period, it seems there are far fewer likeable or respectable personalities in the middle and late periods!

I have to agree with what some of the guys said, the late army is much more interesting for me than that of the Principate. It's an army which is stretched, is being faced with more dangerous and complex enemies (for example the Sassanids, who are a big reason for me liking the late Roman period!) and struggling to meet these new threats. You see new technologies, new costume and tactics coming in (late Roman helmets are a lot more visually striking imo than Principate helmets). It's a really interesting mixing pot.

Also in terms of looking at institutions, ways of thinking, even the way history was written and viewed, you can see a long and gradual shift from classical to medieval, which is probably what attracted me first to the late Roman period. It's not a glamorous or clean-cut period, but in a way i think it makes it more human and relatable. You have people whining about taxes and government bureaucrats and bad military leadership, more mundane things, and it makes it all more real.