~14 pharaohs ruled between Narmer and Djoser (1st + 2nd Dynasties).
Djoser’s reign marks the first major surviving monuments in stone, making him historically prominent.
The cobra statues near Djoser’s Step Pyramid are part of the ceremonial and symbolic architecture of his mortuary complex at Saqqara, and they represent the Uraeus, the sacred Egyptian cobra.
Step Pyramid of Saqqara, seated limestone statues, monumental reliefs; reign of Imhotep
Limestone Statue of DjoserEGYPT – CIRCA 2003: The Pharaoh Djoser, painted limestone statue, from the Pyramid and Mortuary Complex of Djoser at Saqqara. Egyptian Civilisation, Old Kingdom, Dynasty III. Cairo, Egyptian Museum (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)UNSPECIFIED – FEBRUARY 14: Pharaoh Djoser, painted limestone statue, from the mortuary complex of Djoser in Saqqara. Egyptian civilisation, Old Kingdom, Dynasty III. Detail. Cairo, Egyptian Museum (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)Saqqara (Egypt), Step pyramid of king Djoser, c. 2600 BC. – Court of Hebsed, reconstruction. Illustration from: Jean-Philippe Lauer, Fouilles à Sakkarah (Planche LVII) / La Pyramide à Degrés (Service des Antiquités de l’Egypte / Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale / Le Caire 1936). Credit: Album / akg-images / Gilles MermetSakkara; The Step Pyramid of Djoser; Egyptxr:d:DAF130IlonM:13,j:8430023835693147257,t:23120411Saqqara Step Pyramid Facts – Djoser Pyramid Facts – First Pyramid in EgyptLimestone Statue of DjoserEGYPT – CIRCA 2003: The Pharaoh Djoser, painted limestone statue, from the Pyramid and Mortuary Complex of Djoser at Saqqara. Egyptian Civilisation, Old Kingdom, Dynasty III. Cairo, Egyptian Museum (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)UNSPECIFIED – FEBRUARY 14: Pharaoh Djoser, painted limestone statue, from the mortuary complex of Djoser in Saqqara. Egyptian civilisation, Old Kingdom, Dynasty III. Detail. Cairo, Egyptian Museum (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)EGYPT – FEBRUARY 14: Pads cobra shape, Funerary Complex of Djoser with the step pyramid in the background, Saqqara, Memphis (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1979). Egyptian civilisation, Old Kingdom, Dynasty III. Detail. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)