After the reign of the pharaoh Pepi II (2246-2152 BCE), Egypt became unstable. Pepi ruled for at least 94 years, making him the oldest king in Egyptian history. He started his rule as a small child and died at about the age of a hundred. While he ruled, some of the noble families in Egypt gained unusual power. After his death they began fighting among themselves. For the next century Egypt suffered periods of civil war. Similar conflicts also occurred in Nubia.
The kingdom of Yam was replaced by a new kingdom called Kush. Yam and its ruler had been very friendly to Egypt, but the Egyptians now feared Kush. From this time on they always called it "vile Kush."