Zekaria Sitchin (1920-2010), a distinguished Orientalist and biblical scholar, was born in Russia and grew up in Palestine, where he acquired a thorough knowledge of modern and ancient Hebrew, other Semitic and European languages, the Old Testament, and the history and archaeology of the Near East. For many years he worked as a journalist and editor in Israel before embarking on his life's work, The Chronicles of the Earth, a series on the Earth's prehistory.

Zekaria Sitchin is a controversial author and researcher known for his alternative interpretations of ancient Mesopotamian history, especially Sumerian. His most famous work, The 12th Planet (published in 1976), is part of his Chronicles of Earth series, where he presents his unique theories on the origins of humanity and the role of extraterrestrial beings in shaping human civilization. Sitchin's ideas, while not widely accepted by mainstream scientists, have gained a significant following and influenced various theories about ancient astronauts and alternative archaeology.

He based much of his work on ancient Sumerian texts, such as clay tablets and cuneiform inscriptions left by this early civilization. The Sumerians, who lived in southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) from about 4500 to 1900 BC, are often considered one of the first great civilizations of the ancient world. They developed early writing systems, elaborate urban centers, and a pantheon of gods that influenced later Mesopotamian cultures, including the Babylonians and Assyrians.

Read also: Cities in ancient Sumer

The claims of Zekaria Sitchin

One of Sitchin's key contentions is that the Sumerians' detailed knowledge of the solar system, especially their mention of twelve heavenly bodies including the sun, moon, and planets, is evidence of contact with advanced extraterrestrial beings. He identifies these beings as the Anunnaki, whom the Sumerians regarded as gods. According to Sitchin, the Anunnaki come from a distant, yet undiscovered planet called Nibiru, which orbits the Sun in an elongated orbit and passes close to Earth only every 3,600 years.

Sitchin's theory suggests that the Anunnaki played a direct role in the creation of human beings. He interprets Sumerian texts as indicating that the Anunnaki came to Earth in search of gold and other resources. To aid their labor, they genetically modified early humans, mixing their own DNA with that of Homo erectus, resulting in the creation of Homo sapiens. He believes this explains not only the rapid advance of human civilization, but also the ancient Sumerians' reverence for their gods and their complex understanding of astronomy and astrology.

For the Sumerians, the gods (the Anunnaki) were central to every aspect of life, from politics and agriculture to law and religion. Their cosmology reflected a universe ruled by these divine beings, and the heavens were seen as a physical realm where the gods lived. Sumerian texts, such as the Enuma Elish (the Babylonian epic of creation), describe how the gods shaped the world and maintained order, with celestial events seen as manifestations of divine will.

Read also: Gods in ancient Sumer

Sitchin believes that the Sumerians' advanced knowledge of astronomy, including their awareness of planets such as Uranus and Neptune (which were not formally discovered by modern science until much later), could only be obtained through direct interaction with the Anunnaki. He argues that Sumerian cosmology, astronomical records, and myths of the gods are evidence of these ancient extraterrestrial encounters.

While mainstream historians and archaeologists dismiss his theories as pseudoscience, his works continue to captivate readers who are drawn to the idea that humanity's origins may be linked to extraterrestrial beings. His interpretations of Sumerian mythology have inspired a wide range of discussions on alternative history, popularizing the idea that ancient astronauts influenced the development of early human cultures.

Sumerians and polytheism

The Sumerians believed in many gods because they perceived the divine as deeply involved in the workings of the universe. Each god represented a particular cosmic force, natural phenomenon, or societal role. The Anunnaki, for example, are believed to have come from a planet beyond Neptune called Nibiru and played an active role in shaping human civilization. The Sumerians saw their gods as beings who controlled their destiny and the workings of the cosmos.

Their love of the cosmos, the planets and astrology stems from this belief in cosmic origins. They saw the heavens as the abode of the gods and the movements of the heavenly bodies were believed to influence human events. Astrology was not simply a method of divination for the Sumerians, but a science that revealed the will of the gods. The study of the stars allowed them to understand their place in the universe and maintain harmony with the divine order.

Sitchin argues that this fascination with space probably arose from their interaction with the Anunnaki, who, according to his controversial theory, shared their knowledge of the solar system with the Sumerians. Ancient Sumerian texts therefore reveal an advanced understanding of the planets and celestial motions that seems ahead of its time. For the Sumerians, the gods were not distant beings but participants in the cosmos, making their study of the cosmos a form of devotion and a search for deeper knowledge about their origins.