Humans are biologically programmed to retaliate or strike back when thwarted. this is called the hypothesis.

Humans are biologically programmed to retaliate or strike back when thwarted. this is called the Frustration aggression hypothesis.
Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower, and Sears in 1939 proposed the frustration-aggression hypothesis and according to this view, frustration, which is defined as "the condition that develops when circumstances interfere with a goal or objective reaction," often leads to aggression.

Ibelieve that the answer is (a).

The holy roman empire.