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Description
The serekh ("facade") was an ornamentic vignette, combining a front view of a palace facade and a plan (top view) of the royal courtyard. It served as a sort of pre-cursor to the cartouche of later dynasties of Kemet, dating back to the pre-dynastic reign of King Ka, c. 3400 BC. Serekhs were normally used as a royal crest, accentuating and honouring the name of the reigning pharaoh. When naming the pharaoh, the hieroglyphs forming the king's name were placed inside a rectangular extension atop of the serekh, which represented the royal courtyard. Additionally, the falcon of the god Horus or (as in a few cases) the sha of Seth topped the serekh, showing the celestial patrons of the named king.

During the early dynastic period kings had as many as three titles. The Horus name is the oldest and dates to the late pre-dynastic period. The Horus name was adopted by the king, when taking the throne. The Horus name of several early kings expresses a relationship with Horus. Aha refers to "Horus the fighter", Djer refers to "Horus the strong", etc. Later kings express ideals of kingship in their Horus names. Khasekhemwy refers to "Horus: the two powers are at peace", while Nebra refers to "Horus, Lord of the Sun".

1. King Djet, fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty
2. King Peribsen, pharaoh of the Second Dynasty
3. King Khasekhemwy, last pharaoh of the Second Dynasty

Description
The serekh ("facade") was an ornamentic vignette, combining a front view of a palace facade and a plan (top view) of the royal courtyard. It served as a sort of pre-cursor to the cartouche of later dynasties of Kemet, dating back to the pre-dynastic reign of King Ka, c. 3400 BC. Serekhs were normally used as a royal crest, accentuating and honouring the name of the reigning pharaoh. When naming the pharaoh, the hieroglyphs forming the king's name were placed inside a rectangular extension atop of the serekh, which represented the royal courtyard. Additionally, the falcon of the god Horus or (as in a few cases) the sha of Seth topped the serekh, showing the celestial patrons of the named king.

During the early dynastic period kings had as many as three titles. The Horus name is the oldest and dates to the late pre-dynastic period. The Horus name was adopted by the king, when taking the throne. The Horus name of several early kings expresses a relationship with Horus. Aha refers to "Horus the fighter", Djer refers to "Horus the strong", etc. Later kings express ideals of kingship in their Horus names. Khasekhemwy refers to "Horus: the two powers are at peace", while Nebra refers to "Horus, Lord of the Sun".

1. King Djet, fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty
2. King Peribsen, pharaoh of the Second Dynasty
3. King Khasekhemwy, last pharaoh of the Second Dynasty