Editing Pyramid of Djoser (section)

== Djoser ==
[[File:001 Djoser.jpg|thumb|Perspective view, plan and elevation images Djoser's Pyramid Complex taken from a 3d model]]
[[File:Djoser d1.jpg|thumb|Statue of King Djoser]]
[[Djoser]] was the first or second king of the 3rd Dynasty ({{Circa|2670}}–2650 BC) of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] ({{Circa|2686|2125 BC}}).<ref name=" Shaw 480">{{cite book |editor-last=Shaw |editor-first=Ian|editor-link=Ian Shaw (Egyptologist) |title=The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-815034-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/480 480] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/480 }}</ref> He is believed to have ruled for 19 years or, if the 19 years were biennial taxation years, 38 years.<ref name="George Hart 1991"/> He reigned long enough to allow the grandiose plan for his pyramid to be realized in his lifetime.<ref name=" Kathryn A. Bard 2008">[[Kathryn A. Bard]], ''An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt'' (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008), 128–133.</ref>

Djoser is best known for his innovative tomb,  which dominates the Saqqara landscape.<ref name="George Hart 1991">[[George Hart (Egyptologist)|George Hart]], ''Pharaohs, and Pyramids, A Guide Through Old Kingdom Egypt'' (London: The Herbert Press, 1991), 57–68.</ref> In this tomb he is referred to by his Horus name Netjerikhet; Djoser is a name given by [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] visitors more than a thousand years later. Djoser's step pyramid is astounding in its departure from previous architecture. It sets several important precedents, perhaps the most important of which is its status as the first monumental structure made of stone.

The social implications of such a large and carefully sculpted stone structure are staggering.<ref name="Mark Lehner 1997">{{cite book |title=The Complete Pyramids |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-500-05084-2 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/completepyramids00lehn/page/80 80–93] |last1=Lehner |first1=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/completepyramids00lehn/page/80 }}</ref> The process of building such a structure would be far more labor-intensive than previous monuments of mud-brick. This suggests that the state, and therefore the royal government, had a new level of control of resources, both material and human.  Also, from this point on, kings of the Old Kingdom are buried in the north, rather than at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]].

Although the plan of Djoser's pyramid complex is different from later complexes, many elements persist and the step pyramid sets the stage for later pyramids of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Dynasties, including the [[Giza pyramid complex|great pyramids of Giza]]. Though the Dynastic Egyptians themselves did not credit him as such,<ref>A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid, [[John Romer (Egyptologist)|John Romer]] p294-295</ref> most Egyptologists credit Djoser's vizier [[Imhotep]] with the design and construction of the complex.<ref name="Kathryn A. Bard 2008"/> This is based on the presence of his statue in the funerary complex of Djoser, his title of "overseer of sculptors and painters",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Toby |title=Lives of the Ancient Egyptians |year=2013 |isbn=9780500771624 |pages=7 |publisher=Thames and Hudson Limited }}</ref> and a comment made by the 3rd century BC historian Manetho claiming Imhotep was the "inventor of building in stone".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://arce.org/resource/imhotep-sage-between-fiction-and-reality/ |title=Imhotep: A Sage between Fiction and Reality }}</ref> Imhotep would later be deified and known as Asclepios by the Greeks.<ref name=":0" />