By the end of the Classic era, the numbers of nobility had swelled; they constituted about 25 percent of the population. The nobles served in a wider range of capacities, as regional governors, military commanders, priests, scholars, building project managers, trade regulators, and administrators in the city-state. They lived in luxury and began to build their own stelae, carving their portraits and history into stone, and built monuments and temples for their own burials. Some scholars believe this rise in power led to divisions within the government and weakened the strength of the ahaws.

Warfare became widespread as the Classic era drew to a close. For most of their history Maya warriors from one city would attack another only for the purpose of gathering sacrifice victims. But as time went on, the armies of the big city-states became professional and competitive. Though led by nobles, Maya soldiers in the Classic era were enlisted from among the peasants. They were armed with knives, spears, clubs, and shields.

With large trained armies at their disposal, the nobility began to seek conquests. While earlier warfare had resulted in the death of some captured nobles, warfare after about 750 C.E. caused terrible destruction to cities and surrounding areas. Bitter conflicts between cities could last for decades and result in thousands of lost lives and destroyed homes and crops.

By about 900 C.E., the great cities of the Maya southern lowlands had been abandoned. The populations from the cities and some people of the surrounding farmlands moved north to the northern lowlands in the present-day Mexican state of Yucatan. The exact reasons for this desertion are not known and continue to puzzle historians. It is likely overpopulation--too many people for the land and its farms to support--might have been a factor. Inadequate farming might have contributed as well, since there is evidence severe drought may have destroyed crops. In some cities there is also evidence of violence from either internal rebellion or raids from outside.

Because the ahaw and nobility were responsible for making the gods happy, a natural disaster such as a drought or devastated crops would have been considered a failure to perform their duties. This could have caused an uprising among the common people. Starvation could have forced some Maya to leave their cities long before the final years of abandonment. It is likely many factors contributed to the demise of the Classic era's Maya kingdoms.

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