Anunnaki conspiracy theories link Sumerian deities to modern alien narratives

The Anunnaki were originally a group of high‑ranking deities in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, mentioned in Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian texts. They were described as the offspring of the sky god Anu and the earth goddess Ki, with notable figures such as Enlil, god of wind and storms, and Enki, god of water and wisdom.

In 1976, self‑styled orientalist Zecharia Sitchin published *The Twelfth Planet*, proposing that the Anunnaki were not mythic gods but an advanced extraterrestrial civilization from a distant planet called Nibiru (or Planet X). According to Sitchin, these beings arrived on Earth about 450,000 years ago to mine gold, which they needed to repair their planet’s atmosphere, and later engineered early humans through genetic manipulation. His ideas have become a cornerstone of modern ancient‑astronaut conspiracy theories, despite being rejected by mainstream archaeology and history.