NERU (Sumerian: NÉRU — "The 3,600-Year Unit")

Sumerian name: NÉRU

NÉRU (also spelled NERU or NÉR) was a Sumerian unit of measurement that Zecharia Sitchin interpreted as representing 3,600 years — the orbital period of Nibiru, the twelfth planet.

The Sumerian NÉRU

In the Sumerian sexagesimal (base-60) numerical system: - 1 NÉRU = 60 (in simple counting) - 1 NÉRU = 3,600 years (when used for time measurement)

The term appears in the Sumerian King List and other chronological texts as a unit for measuring the reigns of antediluvian kings.

Sitchin's Interpretation

"The NÉRU was not an arbitrary number. It was the measure of time that the Anunnaki brought with them from Nibiru — the orbital period of their home planet."

Sitchin argued that:

1. The Nibiru Orbit — Nibiru completes one orbit around the Sun every 3,600 Earth years
2. The "Divine Year" — One year on Nibiru equals one NÉRU on Earth
3. The King Lists — The extraordinarily long reigns of the antediluvian Sumerian kings are expressed in NÉRU units:
4. Alulim of Eridu: 28,800 years = 8 NÉRU
5. Alalgar of Eridu: 36,000 years = 10 NÉRU
6. Enmenluanna of Bad-tibira: 43,200 years = 12 NÉRU
7. The Time Cycles — Major events in Earth's history occur at NÉRU intervals

The Antediluvian Kings

The Sumerian King List records eight kings before the Great Flood, with reigns ranging from 18,600 to 43,200 years. Sitchin argued that these numbers were not literal years but NÉRU-based measurements reflecting the Nibiran calendar used by the Anunnaki rulers.

NÉRU in the Bible

Sitchin found NÉRU patterns in biblical chronology: - The 1,656 years from Adam to Noah in Genesis (one NÉRU = 3,600, divided by 2.174) - The age of Methuselah (969 years) — close to one NÉRU divided by 3.7 - The time from the Flood to Abraham

NÉRU and the Precessional Cycle

The NÉRU (3,600 years) is related to the precessional cycle (25,920 years): - 1 precessional cycle = 7.2 NÉRU - 1 zodiac age (2,160 years) = 0.6 NÉRU - 1 degree of precession (72 years) = 1/50 of a NÉRU

Cuneiform Evidence

The Sumerian sign NÉRU (𒋼𒊒, "3,600" in the sexagesimal system) is attested in Sumerian mathematical, administrative, and chronological texts. It appears in the Sumerian King List as a unit for measuring royal reigns.

• CDLI Corpus: NÉRU — Browse tablets mentioning the NÉRU unit
• Key tablet: The Sumerian King List (CDLI P384782) records the reigns of antediluvian kings in NÉRU and SAR units, which Sitchin interpreted as reflecting the Nibiru calendar rather than literal Earth years.
• The Sumerian King List recording antediluvian reigns in NÉRU units. (CDLI P384782)

See Also

• Šar — The 36,000-year cycle (10 NÉRU)
• Calendar — Calendar systems
• Precession — The precessional cycle
• Sacred Numbers — Sacred numbers
• Nibiru — The planet with the 3,600-year orbit
• When Time Began — Sitchin's book on time
• Nibiru — The 12^th Planet — The NÉRU as Nibiru's orbital period
• Sumerian King List — The king list uses NÉRU units

Sources

• Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12^th Planet. Chapter 2.
• Sitchin, Z. (1993). When Time Began. Chapters 3-4.
• Jacobsen, T. (1939). The Sumerian King List. University of Chicago Press.