Some Egyptologists consider Pharaoh Rameses IIs decision to draft the

Question

Some Egyptologists consider Pharaoh Rameses II’s decision to draft the Treaty of Kadesh, which ended the fifteen-year long Egyptian-Hittite War, to be one of the pivotal decisions made by the Pharaoh that allowed him to cement his legacy as the greatest of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the claim that the signing of the Treaty of Kadesh was one of the pivotal decisions made by Pharaoh Rameses II that allowed him to cement his legacy as the greatest of the Egyptian Pharaohs?

A. Egypt secured access to lucrative Hittite ports and a large amount of arable land as a result of the treaty.
B. The treaty was signed at a time when both the Hittite army and the Egyptian army were engaged in military innovation. 
C. The Treaty of Kadesh established the Hittite Kingdom as a military ally of Egypt, against the increasingly powerful Assyrian Empire. 
D. Ramses II had drastically underestimated the strength of the Hittite army.
E. The Treaty of Kadesh was signed after internal conflict forced the Hittite Kingdom to pursue diplomatic ties with the kingdoms surrounding it.

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vasu1104 · Answer

signing treaty was the reason for cementing his legacy as greatest of the egyptian pharaohs.

A this is actually strengthening the argument. 
 B good to know that there was military innovation but it doesnt affect anything. 
 C we are concerned with the fact that treaty was reason for his legacy not in knowing whether hittite became their military ally or not 
 D who cares about what he underestimated and overestimated 
 E perfect. if something else was reason behind the hittites decision then we can say he didnt do the job. so this clearly breaks the hidden link

tanvi0915 · Answer

A strengthens the claim
B is irrelevant it does not talk about the benefit of treaty or ramsee's brilliance
C also strengthens the claim
D irrelevant
E talk about the treaty being pursued by Hittie's army and not by ramsee's brilliance thus undermining his power and legacy
Answer is E

eaat · Answer

I chose answer E because it gives a reason of why this treaty was signed and therefore weakens the argument that the Pharaoh was the reason behind it

Suyash750 · Answer

Ans E. As the point logically undercuts Rameses's tactual genius. It shows that the treaty was more in Hittite Kingdom's interest rather Egypt.

laborumplaceat · Answer

E will weaken as E tells us that the treat of Kadesh was not a "decision" taken by Rameses II but it was enforced upon them.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

According to the argument signing the treaty was one of the pivotal decisions that allowed Ramses II to cement his legacy as the greatest pharaoh.

To weaken this, we would show that signing the treaty was not really a pivotal decision by Ramses II, maybe it was forced, inevitable, or not decisive in building his greatness.

A.  Egypt secured access to lucrative Hittite ports and a large amount of arable land as a result of the treaty.

This shows the benefits from the treaty. This strengthens the idea it was a good decision.

B.  The treaty was signed at a time when both the Hittite army and the Egyptian army were engaged in military innovation.

This mentions military innovation in both armies. Neutral on whether the treaty was pivotal for his legacy.

C.  The Treaty of Kadesh established the Hittite Kingdom as a military ally of Egypt, against the increasingly powerful Assyrian Empire.

This option shows the treaty gave Egypt an important ally against Assyria, strengthens importance of the treaty.

D.  Ramses II had drastically underestimated the strength of the Hittite army.

D  says Ramses II underestimated Hittite strength, suggests maybe he had to sign because he couldn’t win militarily; the decision might have been forced, not a brilliant strategic choice. This could weaken the idea that it was a  “pivotal decision”  lets keep it

E.  The Treaty of Kadesh was signed after internal conflict forced the Hittite Kingdom to pursue diplomatic ties with the kingdoms surrounding it.

Option E  says Hittites were forced to pursue diplomatic ties due to internal conflict, meaning the treaty might have been more the Hittites’ initiative than Ramses’s masterstroke. This weakens the idea that it was his pivotal decision for his legacy, because he was just accepting a deal offered due to Hittite weakness, not creating a great diplomatic achievement. Keep this one too.

Now between  D  and  E:

D  weakens but focuses on his military miscalculation, still, he did decide to sign after realizing the situation. Might not fully undermine that the signing itself was crucial for his legacy.

E  more  directly shows  the treaty was initiated by Hittite necessity; Ramses just reacted. So it wasn’t so much his pivotal decision driving his greatness, more just accepting inevitable peace. This is stronger in weakening.

Given typical GMAT weakening questions,  E  directly attacks the agency and credit Ramses gets for the treaty, thus weakening the claim it was his pivotal decision for his legacy.

Answer: E

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Video explanation: 
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPs20ywrqjo

Some Egyptologists consider Pharaoh Rameses IIs decision to draft the

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Some Egyptologists consider Pharaoh Rameses IIs decision to draft the

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