The end of the Old Kingdom, around 2100 BC, seems to have been caused by rebellions among the lower levels of the rich people, who believed that the Pharaohs had too much power. Gradually the Pharaohs had become more and more dependent on the government officials, and these men grabbed power. Some of the organization of the country collapsed.
No more pyramids were built. Literary sources describe a time of anarchy, with noblemen and noblewomen working in the fields, men killing their parents, brothers fighting, and tombs being destroyed. Some people, like Brian Fagan, think this may have been brought on by a major climate change which brought drought conditions to Egypt.
