djoser

Imhotep (the name means 'he who comes in peace') was a commoner, who rose through the ranks of royal service to become an important adviser to Djoser, the most important pharoah of the Third Dynasty.

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He was responsible for the step pyramid at Saqqara, and possibly for the unfinished pyramid of the pharaoh Sekhemkhet, who succeeded Djoser. The step pyramid was the first such large stone construction in the history of Egypt; Imhotep's design therefore occupies an important place in the development of architecture.

Djoser was a pharoah of the Third Dynasty of Egypt, also known as Netjerikhet ('body of the gods'). He had a long reign - stated variously by ancient texts as 19 or 29 years - during which time he conquered the Sinai, an important source of minerals as well as a useful buffer zone between Egypt and the states further east.

He is best known for the step pyramid at Saqqara which he commissioned Imhotep to build. It consists of several mastabas on top of each other, and is the earliest of the pyramids. He had earlier begun an unfinished tomb at Abydos, till then the burial place of the pharoahs, and it seems that the beginning of the pyramid at Saqqara may have coincided with moving the capital further north and away from Abydos.

The limestone statue of Djoser now in the Cairo museum is the earliest known life-sized Egyptian statue.