“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”- Joe Walcott. This is true for boxing, but especially true for the Roman Empire. Rome began as a small settlement on the banks of the Tiber River and, with help from swords, shields, and spears, conquered land from most of the Old World. At the climax of the Roman Empire, they controlled Europe, most of Asia and a good portion of Africa. But, like most climaxes, then comes the resolution, and the Roman Empire came to a close. Some people have the belief that the primary reason for the fall of Rome was foreign invasions, but if you look deeper, the primary reasons for the fall of the Republic turned Empire were military mistakes and political corruption. Rome was lazy and unprepared from crippling