What attracts you to Late Rome?

[Frank]

Frank, I liked Peter Heather's book on the fall of the western empire a lot. Anyway what surprised me even more positively was Adrian Goldsworthy's take on the subject. Nothing fancy, just well based views on the inner weaknesses of the roman system like the never-solved succession of the emperors etc. It is a miracle that the western empire didn't go down in the third c. AD.

Actually, I did not read Goldsworthy (just some reviews), but a lot of german authors supporting a rather structural approach. And Yes, its a miracle. I guess its a good idea to read both Heather and Goldsworthy. That surely leads to maximum confusion or frustration. :grin:
As a third book Stephen Williams, Gerard Friell - "The Rome that did not fall" is a good read. He is a bit balanced, and answers in detail the question, which is often ignored by other historians: Why the hell, the East survived? But now we are deep in 5th and 6th century.