Zecharia Sitchin

{{pseudoastronomy|1=1}}
'''Zecharia Sitchin''' ([[Azerbaijan]]i: '''Zaxariya Sitçin''') {{lived|1920|2010}} was an [[Ultracrepidarianism|economist]] and [[crank]] who believed in a "twelfth planet" called [[Nibiru]] that created all life on Earth. It is apparently a "yo-yo" planet that only shows up "every 3000 plus years", or something.  It is also responsible for the asteroid belt. 

==Influences==
He basically spliced together [[Immanuel Velikovsky]]'s catastrophism with [[Peter Kolosimo]] and [[Erich von Däniken]]'s [[ancient astronauts]],<ref>Velikovsky's ''Worlds in Colision'' came out in 1950, Kolosimo's ''Timeless Earth'' in 1964, von Däniken's ''Chariots of the Gods'' in 1968, and Sitchin's ''The 12th Planet'' in 1976.</ref> using as a glue his own contribution to the mix — the long-period planet Nibiru and its inhabitants, the [[Anunnaki]].

==Sumerian language==
All of this is supposedly found in a prophecy written by the ancient [[Sumer]]ians and confirmed in the [[Old Testament]]. 

Sitchin had a distinct advantage here.  His translations of ancient Sumerian works are often "idiosyncratic", and not much like anybody else's. Only a few dozen academics in the world today are competent in Sumerian, so not many people could actually call him out properly on his nonsense.<ref group=note>Far fewer than Classical Hebrew, Sanskrit or even Ancient Egyptian.</ref>

==Other beliefs==
He also believed that a missile from [[Mars]]' moon Phobos shot down a Soviet probe.<ref>[http://www.sitchin.com/#phobos "The Rush Back to Phobos"]</ref>

Somehow, he was convinced that he was moments away from being recognized as the most important scientist of all time—typical of cranks in general, really.

==Partial bibliography==

*''The 12th Planet'', 1976, {{isbn|0-8128-1939-X}}
*''The Stairway to Heaven'', 1980, {{isbn|0-312-75505-8}}
*''The Wars of Gods and Men'', 1985, {{isbn|0-380-89585-4}}
*''The Lost Realms'', 1990, {{isbn|0-380-75890-3}}
*''When Time Began'', 1993, {{isbn|0-380-77071-7}}
*''The Cosmic Code'', 1998, {{isbn|0-380-80157-4}}
*''The End of Days: Armageddon and Prophecies of the Return'', 2007, {{isbn|978-0-06-123823-9}}

==See also==
* [[Immanuel Velikovsky]]
* [[Erich von Däniken]]
* [[Peter Kolosimo]]

==External links==
*[http://www.sitchin.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.sitchiniswrong.com/ Sitchin Is Wrong.com], written by a professional scholar of ancient Near East languages and cultures
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20091020010938/http://geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8148/hafernik.html "Sitchin's Twelfth Planet"], by Rob Hafernik
*[http://web.archive.org/web/19971018114710/http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~martins/Pyramid/ "Forging the Pharoah's name?"], by Martin Stower
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20010613030125/http://www.ramtops.demon.co.uk/siren.html Sitchin's Sumerian Astronomy Refuted]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20011021110403/http://www.ianlawton.com/mesindex.htm A Refutation of the Theories of Zecharia Sitchin], by Ian Lawton
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20011020115140/http://www.facadenovel.com/positionpapers.htm Position Papers]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080205194138/http://www.lauralee.com/vanflan.htm An astronomer's analysis of the Akkadian Seal]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20010613024407/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/FDoernenburg/mainpyr.htm The Pyramid Mystery]
*[http://www.skepdic.com/sitchin.html Zecharia Sitchin's entry] at the Skeptic's Dictionary
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130116112704/http://www.cosmophobia.org/nibiru Nibiru] at Cosmophobia
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20010802033529/http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/hypo.html Hypothetical Planets]
*[https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_sitchin.htm A collection of Sitchin's ramblings, including pirated versions of several of his kookbooks]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitchin, Zecharia}}
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[[Category:Ancient aliens]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Bible woo]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Pseudoarchaeology]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory promoters]]
[[Category:Pseudolinguistics]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

{{stub|pseudohistory}}
{{stub|pseudoastronomy}}

Categories: Ancient aliens, Authors, Bible woo, Conspiracy theorists, Pseudoarchaeology, Pseudohistory promoters, Pseudolinguistics, Pseudoscience promoters