Answer:
Grasp is the best synonym for clenched
"Rome was built on hills which made defenses easier. The Tiber River was a source of water and the Alps protected it from the north".
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Not only goods but also culture was "traded" along trade routes. The Renaissance was a time period of new thinking. Trade influenced the renaissance because it gave Europeans a contact with other cultures that had perhaps developed newer or better techniques and technologies. For example, the Arabic states had advanced universities and had made great discoveries in mathematics.
B and because that’s what I think
