撒迦利亚·西琴（Zecharia Sitchin），近东古文明研究领域专家、学者。1920年7月11日出生于阿塞拜疆巴库，在乌克兰和巴勒斯坦度过幼年和少年时代；年长后在伦敦大学攻读过考古学、历史学、语言学、经济学及神话学等；2010年10月9日病逝于美国纽约。

西琴毕生致力于研究近东古文明与人类起源的联系。从1976年起，他陆续出版了引起巨大反响的系列作品《地球编年史》。

《地球编年史》系列多达7册，作者结合考古学、古文字学、东方学与《圣*》学的*新科学发现，重新编织并复述了整个人类的历史──尤其是史前地球史和人类史。

作为世界上少数能解读苏美尔楔形文字的学者，西琴同时也精通希伯来语、塞姆语和欧洲的各种语言。他的研究遍及古巴比伦、古埃及、古印度和玛雅文化等领域， 生致力于人类起源的研究活动。他的研究活动甚至被立为 门独立的学科“西琴学”。

Why is it that our current twenty-first century a.d. is so similar to the twenty-first century <small>B.C.</small>? At a time when religious fanaticism and a clash of civilizations raise the specter of a nuclear Armageddon, many ask: Is history destined to repeat itself? What does the future hold? Will biblical prophecies come true, and if so, when? </p>

Ever since Zecharia Sitchin, in his first trailblazing book The 12th Planet, brought to life the Sumerian civilization and its record of the Annunaki—the extraterrestrials who had come to Earth from their planet Nibiru, fashioned mankind, and gave us civilization and religion—questions have abounded. Are the ancient gods still here, or did they leave? Will they return? What will happen then? Will there be another Deluge or Apocalypse when Nibiru meets Earth? What about &#147;Planet X&#148; and the Mayan 2012? What about Jesus? </p>

In The End of Days, a masterwork that required thirty years of additional research, Sitchin dares to give the answers by presenting compelling new evidence that the Past is the Future—that mankind and its planet Earth are subject to a predetermined cyclical Celestial Time. </p>

Tracing historical events from the messianic fervor and use of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century <small>B.C.</small>, Sitchin resolves ancient enigmas like the Nazca Lines or the origin and significance of the Cross, the Fishes, and the Chalice, places in context the events of the Last Supper and hidden clues like those in Da Vinci's painting, explains the space-related reasons for the everlasting centrality of Jerusalem, and—following in the footsteps of Sir Isaac Newton—deciphers the Time Code in the books of Daniel and Revelation and of the Day of the Lord and the End of Days prophecies. </p>

In this remarkable and relevant conclusion to his bestselling The Earth Chronicles series, Sitchin shatters perceptions and uses history to reveal what is to come at The End of Days. </p>