Read Velikovsky’s “Worlds in Collision”, written sometime around 1950. Whether or not you buy into his conclusions it is a fascinating read, and his theory is documented six ways to Sunday. Modern scientists have had questions about the theory but have not been able to fully refute it.
Early civilizations may well have watched and recorded the death of Mars, but it was stated in terms that they understood at the time, as conflicts of creatures in the heavens, a pillar of fire at night, a pillar of smoke in the daytime....