The Anunnaki of Sumer
A writer claimed that ancient Sumerian texts told of gods from a hidden planet who came to Earth and made humans.
What was reported
The Sumerians of southern Iraq, one of the world's first civilisations, wrote on clay tablets about a family of gods called the Anunnaki.
In 1976, the writer Zecharia Sitchin published 'The 12th Planet', claiming that Sumerian texts described a hidden planet, Nibiru, whose people, the Anunnaki, came to Earth to mine gold and created humans to work for them. His books sold millions of copies and inspired a large following.
Explanations offered
Scholars who read Sumerian say Sitchin mistranslated the texts. In Sumerian religion, the Anunnaki are gods, and the tablets describe no hidden planet. The 'Nibiru' idea has since been linked to repeated end-of-the-world predictions, none of which came true.
- When
- Claims since 1976
- Where
- Nippur, ancient Sumer, Iraq
- Witnesses
- A writer, and the scholars who disagreed
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.