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Shar (Sumerian: ŠAR — "King / Universe / Totality")

Sumerian name: ŠAR

Šar (also spelled SAR or SHAR; Sumerian: ŠAR) was a Sumerian term meaning "king," "universe," or "totality." In numerical terms, it represented 3,600 — the same value as the NÉRU. However, Zecharia Sitchin identified a larger cycle called the Šar that measured 36,000 years (10 NÉRU).

The Sumerian Šar

In Sumerian: - Šar = 3,600 (base value) - But also used to mean "all," "totality," "the universe" - In the Sumerian King List, some reigns are expressed in SAR units

Sitchin's Interpretation

Sitchin identified two distinct but related cycles:

Cycle Duration Equivalent
NÉRU 3,600 years 1 Nibiru orbit
Šar 36,000 years 10 NÉRU

The Šar cycle of 36,000 years represents, in Sitchin's reading: 1. The "Great Year" of the Anunnaki — one divine "decade" 2. A complete cycle of Anunnaki presence on Earth 3. The full cycle of Earth's precessional wobble (25,920 years) rounded up to 36,000 for symbolic purposes

The 36,000-Year Cycle in Ancient Traditions

Sitchin found the Šar cycle encoded in:

  • The Hindu Kalpa — 4,320,000 years (120 × 36,000)
  • The Mayan Long Count — 5,125 years (not directly, but related cycles)
  • The Babylonian Berossus — The history of the cosmos divided into periods
  • The Bible — The genealogies and chronological systems

Šar and NÉRU

The relationship between Šar and NÉRU reflects the Sumerian sexagesimal system:

Unit Value
1 NÉRU 3,600 years
1 ŠAR 36,000 years (10 NÉRU)
1 NER (variation) 600 years (⅙ of NÉRU)
1 SOS 60 years
1 NEROS 600 years

Cuneiform Evidence

The term ŠAR (𒊹, "King / Universe / Totality") appears in Sumerian texts as both a royal title and a numerical unit. In the sexagesimal system, ŠAR represents 3,600, also used for cycles of 36,000 years (10 ŠAR).

  • CDLI Corpus: ŠAR — Browse tablets mentioning the ŠAR unit
  • Key tablet: The Sumerian King List (CDLI P384782) and astronomical texts use the ŠAR unit for measuring long periods. Babylonian chronologies preserve the concept of the šar as a great cosmic cycle.
  • Sumerian King List The Sumerian King List, which records royal reigns in ŠAR and NÉRU units. (CDLI P384782)

See Also

Sources

  • Sitchin, Z. (1993). When Time Began. Chapters 3-5.
  • Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12th Planet.
  • Neugebauer, O. (1969). The Exact Sciences in Antiquity.