“Anu” or “Anum” was the sky god and king of the gods in which ancient religion?

“Anu” or “Anum” (originally “An”) was regarded as the supreme god and sky god in the ancient Mesopotamian religion. Anu is sky in Sumerian and was regarded as a source of both divine and human kingship and is usually the first mentioned among deities written in Mesopotamian texts. Anu’s prominence did not extend into the worship of Mesopotamian gods and tended to have a passive role in the religion’s mythos.

Many stories concerning Anu’s spouses (Ki, Urash and Antu) all representing earth and were equated with each other. Children of Anu include Enki (god of water), Ishkur (god of rain and storm) and sometimes Inanna (or Ishtar, goddess of love, war and fertility) is mentioned as an offspring.

Anu rarely appears in Mesopotamian artwork and has no known recognizable anthropomorphic (humanlike) images.