Which of the following effects of the decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire was not a factor leading to the Italian Renaissance?
a)The loss of control over parts of the Italian peninsula allowed independent city-states to prosper
b)The Ottoman Empire stabilized trade in the Mediterranean by eliminating the threat of piracy
c)The fall of Constantinople to the Turks severed land-based trade routes between Europe and Asia
D)The fall of the Byzantine Empire marked the end of the feudal system and the rise of two new social classes