In Sitchin's theory, who exactly were the long-lived kings before the Great Flood in the Sumerian King List?

Hello, the question about who those "long-lived kings" on the Sumerian King List are in Sitchin's theory is really interesting and a key point in his entire framework. Let me explain it in plain language.

In Sitchin's Theory, the Pre-Flood "Kings" Were Actually the Anunnaki Themselves

Simply put, in Zecharia Sitchin's theory, the 'kings' on the Sumerian King List before the Great Flood, who had astonishing reigns lasting tens of thousands of years, were not Earthlings at all, but Anunnaki commanders who directly ruled Earth.

Here's the logic you can follow:

1. Unexplainable Longevity

The Sumerian King List states that Alulim, the first king before the Flood, reigned for 28,800 years, and the second, Alaljar, for 36,000 years... This clearly doesn't fit our human biological norms.

Sitchin believed this was precisely the key clue. His core argument is:

The Anunnaki were aliens from the planet Nibiru.
Nibiru's orbital period is approximately 3,600 Earth years.
Therefore, the Anunnaki's lifespan scale is completely different from ours. For them, tens of thousands of Earth years might just be a small fraction of their lives.

So, these "kings" recorded on the King List were actually the leaders of the first Anunnaki colony on Earth. They established the earliest cities (like Eridu) and managed them personally. The Sumerians, created by them as a "laborer race," naturally regarded these god-like rulers as their kings and recorded their reigns in Earth years.

2. "Kings" Were "Gods"

In Sitchin's interpretation, the great gods in Sumerian mythology, such as Enki (who created humans) and Enlil (the supreme commander on Earth), were actually the names and identities of these Anunnaki leaders.

The first city recorded on the King List is Eridu, founded by and with its first king being Alulim.
In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was the city of the wisdom god Enki.

Therefore, Sitchin argued that Alulim was likely Enki, or at least an official title for Enki on Earth. These so-called "kings" were the "gods" in the eyes of the Sumerians. They weren't human-elected or hereditary monarchs; they were the "bosses" from the heavens.

3. The Change After the Flood: Transition from "Gods" to "Demigods"

This theory also explains why, after the Flood, the kings' lifespans drastically shortened but were still much longer than ordinary people's (e.g., hundreds of years).

Sitchin proposed:

The Great Flood was a real event, a global catastrophe triggered by Nibiru's close approach to Earth.
After the Flood, the Anunnaki decided to cease direct rule and instead grant "kingship" to humans.
However, the earliest chosen human rulers were not ordinary people; they were the offspring of Anunnaki mating with Earth women, i.e., "Demigods".

These "demigod" kings, like the famous Gilgamesh – explicitly described in the epic as "two-thirds god, one-third human" – inherited some of the Anunnaki's longevity genes. Hence, their lifespans far exceeded normal humans but couldn't match the pure-blooded Anunnaki "god-kings" before the Flood.

Over time, the divine bloodline became increasingly diluted within the human royal families. Kings' lifespans gradually shortened, eventually returning to the normal levels we know today.

To Summarize

So, according to Sitchin's theory, the identity of the kings on the Sumerian King List evolved as follows:

Before the Flood: Pure-blooded Anunnaki commanders (gods), with lifespans measured in tens of thousands of years.
Early Post-Flood Period: Hybrid offspring of Anunnaki and humans (demigods), with lifespans measured in hundreds of years.
Later Period: The divine bloodline gradually diluted, resulting in purely human kings with lifespans no different from ordinary people.

Thus, the entire Sumerian King List, moving from seemingly mythical long reigns to historically verifiable normal lifespans, forms a complete, self-consistent narrative chain. This is Sitchin's core interpretation of the issue.