Robert E. Howard’s Serpent Men first appeared in his Sword & Sorcery tale “The Shadow Kingdom” (Weird Tales, August 1929). As a piece of fantasy, it is a great tale, but it took H. P. Lovecraft mentioning the serpent race in “The Whisperer in Darkness” (Weird Tales, August 1931) to bring them into the Mythos fold. These ancient creatures lived during the Age of the Dinosaurs and have slowly lost their hold on the Earth over the aeons. By the time King Kull shows up at the end of the Atlantian era, they have become sneaks who lurk in the background, manipulating human politics. The Serpent Men do this by assuming the guise of certain important figures, having the ability to make themselves look like anyone they wish. Kull defeats them with the help of the Picts, an older race that hasn’t forgotten the evil of the Serpent. The Serpent Men would inspire Lin Carter’s Dragon Kings in Thongor of Lemuria (1965).
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http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/blog/column-writing-the-mythos-6/
The Serpent Men are not done yet! I’ve just had a collection of brand new Elak of Atlantis stories published and they appear within. Elak lived long, long after Kull, but the Serpent Men are still lurking…