Zecharia Sitchin (July 11, 1920 – October 9, 2010) was an author who wrote many books about human origins. He believed ancient astronauts were involved in creating the Sumerian culture, which he claimed was built by a group of extraterrestrials called the Anunnaki. Sitchin said these beings came from a planet beyond Neptune named Nibiru. He argued that Sumerian myths suggest Nibiru follows a long, oval-shaped path around the Sun, taking 3,600 years to complete one orbit. Sitchin’s books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into over 25 languages.
Scientists, academics, historians, and experts in ancient cultures (including Sumerologists, Orientalists, and Assyriologists) strongly disagree with Sitchin’s ideas. They call his work pseudoscience and pseudohistory, meaning it is not based on real scientific or historical evidence. Critics say his research includes mistakes, ignores important archaeological and historical facts, and misinterprets ancient texts. His claims about astronomy and science are also considered incorrect.
Early life
Sitchin was born to a Jewish family in Baku, the capital of what was then Soviet Azerbaijan. He was raised in Mandatory Palestine. He earned a degree in economics from the University of London and worked as an editor and journalist in Israel before moving to New York in 1952. While working as an executive for a shipping company, he taught himself to read Sumerian cuneiform and visited several archaeological sites.
Ideas and works
Similar to earlier authors such as Immanuel Velikovsky and Erich von Däniken, Sitchin proposed theories in which events involving extraterrestrial beings supposedly influenced ancient human history.
According to Sitchin’s interpretation of Mesopotamian art and symbols, described in his 1976 book The 12th Planet and later works, there is a planet not yet discovered that lies beyond Neptune. This planet follows a long, tilted path around the Sun, reaching the inner Solar System approximately every 3,600 years. Sitchin called this planet Nibiru (though Jupiter was the planet linked to the Babylonian god Marduk). He claimed that Nibiru, which was once a planet not originally part of the Solar System, was captured early in the Solar System’s history. Nibiru supposedly collided with Tiamat, a goddess in Babylonian creation myths who was also considered a planet located between Mars and Jupiter. This collision, Sitchin said, formed Earth, the asteroid belt, and comets. He described how Tiamat split into two parts after being struck by one of Nibiru’s moons. Later, Nibiru itself struck the broken pieces, with one half becoming the asteroid belt and the other half being pushed into a new orbit to form Earth. Sitchin also suggested that Pluto (which he associated with two Sumerian figures, Gaga and Isimud) was originally a moon of Saturn but was sent to the outer Solar System by Nibiru’s gravity, altering its orbit so it crosses Neptune’s path.
Sitchin believed Nibiru, called "the twelfth planet" because he claimed the Sumerians’ view of the Solar System included eight planets, Pluto, the Sun, and the Moon, was the home of an advanced extraterrestrial race called the Anunnaki in Sumerian myths. He stated that these beings are also referred to as the Nephilim in the Bible. Sitchin wrote that the Anunnaki arrived on Earth about 450,000 years ago to search for gold, which they mined in Africa. He described them as workers in an extraterrestrial mission to Earth.
Sitchin claimed that Enki, the Sumerian god of water and human culture, proposed creating early humans (Homo sapiens) through genetic changes to replace the Anunnaki as laborers in gold mines. He said ancient writings describe how Sumerian civilization was established with the help of these "gods" and how human kingship was created to serve as intermediaries between humans and the Anunnaki, leading to the idea of the "divine right of kings." Sitchin believed that nuclear weapons used in a war among extraterrestrials caused the "evil wind" mentioned in the Lament for Ur, which destroyed the city of Ur around 2024 BCE. He also stated that his research aligns with many biblical stories, which he claimed originated from Sumerian writings.
Influence
Since the release of his first book, The 12th Planet, in 1976, Sitchin has written seven other books as part of his Earth Chronicles series and six additional companion books. His books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 25 languages. A New York Times reporter, Corey Kilgannon, noted that even though many academics do not support Sitchin’s work, he has "many readers who support his ideas."
Critic Michael S. Heiser described Sitchin as "one of the most important supporters of the ancient astronaut theory over the past few decades." Sitchin often appeared on the Coast to Coast AM radio show, and in 2010, the show honored him with a lifetime achievement award. Alan F. Alford, the author of Gods of the New Millennium, said he first became "very interested" in Sitchin’s ideas but later criticized how Sitchin interpreted myths.
Some writers suggest that Sitchin’s ideas, along with those of Erich von Däniken, may have influenced the beliefs of the religious group Raëlism. Mark Pilkington, a writer, believes the mythology of Japan’s Pana Wave religious group is based on Sitchin’s The 12th Planet and its follow-up books.
The 1994 movie Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich, and the 2009 video game The Conduit were inspired by some of Sitchin’s ideas. Screenwriter Roberto Orci stated that the villains in the film Cowboys & Aliens were inspired by Sitchin’s description of the Anunnaki as aliens who mined gold.
In 2016, Kazem Finjan, the Iraqi Minister of Transport, claimed during a press conference that Sumerians built and used an airport in the Dhi Qar Governorate 5,000 years ago to launch spaceships. He used Sitchin’s work and other research to support this claim.
Criticisms
Criticism of Sitchin's work is mainly divided into three areas: how he translates and interprets ancient texts, his use of astronomical and scientific information, and his strict, literal approach to myths.
When Sitchin wrote his books, only experts could read the Sumerian language. However, resources like the 2006 book Sumerian Lexicon have made the language easier for non-experts to understand.
American biblical scholar Michael S. Heiser says he found many errors in Sitchin's translations and encourages others to use Sumerian Lexicon to check their accuracy. Professor Ronald H. Fritze, author of Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions, points out that Sitchin incorrectly assigns meanings to ancient words, such as claiming the Sumerian sign DIĜIR means "pure ones of the blazing rockets." Fritze adds that Sitchin often quotes ancient texts out of context or cuts parts of quotes to support his ideas. He also notes that Sitchin ignores evidence that contradicts his claims.
Sitchin bases his arguments on his own interpretations of Egyptian and Sumerian texts and a seal called VA 243. He claimed ancient civilizations knew of twelve planets, but in reality, they only recognized five. Many Sumerian seals and calendars have been studied, and they all show five planets. Seal VA 243 has twelve dots that Sitchin says represent planets, but translations now show the seal reads "You're his servant," a message from a nobleman to a servant. Heiser explains that the "sun" on VA 243 is actually a star, not the Sumerian symbol for the sun, and the dots are also stars. The symbol on VA 243 does not match known Sumerian sun symbols.
In a 1979 review of The Twelfth Planet, Roger W. Wescott, a professor at Drew University, criticized Sitchin's lack of expertise in Sumerian language:
Sitchin's understanding of Sumerian seems as unprofessional as his knowledge of other subjects. For example, he claimed all ancient languages, including early Chinese, came from Sumerian. However, Sumerian is a language-isolate, meaning it does not belong to any known language family. Even if Sitchin focused on written language, his argument is weak because other early writing systems existed before Sumerian.
Sitchin's "planetary collision" theory resembles a modern idea about how the moon formed, but there are differences. Sitchin suggests ancient humans knew about rogue planets through myths, similar to Immanuel Velikovsky's earlier ideas. However, Velikovsky believed these events happened during human history, while Sitchin says they occurred during the early formation of planets and were later passed down by an alien race from Nibiru.
C. Leroy Ellenberger, a former assistant to Velikovsky, criticized Sitchin's claim that a race called the Nephilim evolved on Nibiru 45 million years before Earth. Ellenberger argues this is unlikely because Nibiru would spend most of its time far beyond Pluto. Sitchin's idea that heat from radioactive decay and a thick atmosphere keep Nibiru warm ignores the darkness of space and does not explain how the Nephilim could have known about Nibiru's arrival.
Sitchin's theory that Nibiru returns to the inner solar system every 3,600 years suggests an orbit 235 times farther from the sun than Pluto. Scientists say such an orbit would not remain stable over time, making Sitchin's claim about Nibiru's regular returns unlikely.
Sitchin claimed 223 human genes lack clear evolutionary predecessors, but later research found these genes may have been transferred from bacteria. Other scientists suggest gene loss and differences in evolutionary rates provide a more reasonable explanation.
Peter James, co-author of Centuries of Darkness, criticized Sitchin for ignoring non-Mesopotamian cultures and misinterpreting Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian texts. He notes Sitchin incorrectly identifies gods from the Enuma Elish as planets, such as calling Apsu the sun and Ea Neptune or a spaceman. Sitchin also ignores the well-known connection between Ishtar and the planet Venus.
William Irwin Thompson criticized Sitchin's "literalism," or taking myths at face value. He points out that Sitchin's descriptions of gods and technology, like rockets and radiation therapy, seem outdated and inconsistent with the idea of advanced alien beings.