She was initially an epithet of Ishtar of Akkad exemplifying her warlike aspect, but by the late third millennium BCE she came to function as a distinct deity.

[5] There is no certainty whether the original pronunciation is better reflected by romanization with a single or double n.[2] It is presumed that Annunitum's name is derived from the root ‘nn, "warlike".

[13] Tonia Sharlach in her study of Annunitum and other goddesses worshiped in the court of Shulgi notes that it might be more accurate to refer to the names Ishtar and Inanna as "something of an umbrella term" designating multiple interconnected deities.

[20] An earlier cylinder seal from Sippar assumed to depict her in the company of another goddess, likely Aya, shows her holding a trident-like weapon.

[30] A unique passage from Nabonidus' Eḫulḫul [de] cylinder simultaneously referring to Enlil and Sin as Annunitum's fathers is presumed to reflect the so-called "theology of the moon",[31] an idea attested in Neo-Assyrian in Neo-Babylonian texts according to which Sin possessed the powers of Enlil, Anu and Ea while the moon was waxing.

[11] Tonia Sharlach notes that while distinct from each other, they appear in sources from the Ur III period together frequently and compares them to a pair of twins.

[35] Wolfgang Heimpel proposes that in Old Babylonian Mari Annunitum was closely associated with Belet Ekallim, possibly due to their shared connection with Ishtar.

[36] Additionally, a text from this city refers to a belief that after his annual resurrection Dumuzi entered the temple of Annunitum,[37] though it has been noted he was only occasionally associated with any deities belonging to the Mariote pantheon.

[39] This name is also attested in the god list An = Anum (tablet V, line 185),[40] though there this deity is assigned a similar role in association with Birtum instead.

[41] In the Old Akkadian period Ishtar-Annunitum was considered the tutelary goddess of the city of Akkad,[7] and it has been described as the main cult center of Annunitum as a distinct deity as well.

[42] It is mentioned in the Khorsbad temple list, which is known from only one exemplar and focused on houses of worship located in the north of Mesopotamia, including the Diyala basin and Transtigridian regions.

[21] By the Ur III period Akkad ceased to be considered an important city,[34] but Annunitum's cult spread across Mesopotamia.

[4] Texts from the reign of Tiglath-pileser I indicate Annunitum remained a major goddess in the local pantheon through the twelfth century, but at an unknown point in time her position started to decline.

[70] Nabonidus additionally asserts that Annunitum was subsequently transferred to Arrapḫa and that her cult was disturbed by Gutians,[71] though in this context the term should be understood as a generic reference to barbarians or enemies of Babylonia.

[72] During the Neo-Babylonian period, Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II made offerings to Annunitum and other displaced deities in a structure located near or within the E-babbar [pl].

[77] During his reign Annunitum was also the only deity for whom a separate clothing ceremony (lubuštu) was held; such celebrations are otherwise only attested for Shamash alongside gods of Sippar as a collective.

[3] During the reign of Zimri-Lim she was one of the nine deities who received the most offerings during festivals, next to the local god Itūr-Mēr, Dagan, Belet Ekallim, Nergal, Shamash, Ea, Ninhursag and Addu.

[81] She is listed after Dīrītum and before Ḫubur as a recipient of six sheep in a text documenting offerings made after Zimri-Lim's ascension, and between Mārat-iltim and Bēlet-biri in another similar source focused on sacrifices to the deities of Terqa.

[82] One of the earliest year names of Zimri-Lim commemorates the construction of a statue of Annunitum in the city of Šeḫrum, located close to Mari and Der.

[85] One of the letters sent to Zimri-Lim by his wife Shibtu deals with a prophecy of Annunitum delivered by Ili-ḫaznaya, a member of her temple's staff, who explained that the goddess wants to warn the king about a rebellion.

[86] In another letter a woman named Addu-duri, who addresses herself as a maidservant of Zimri-Lim, informs the king that a female ecstatic (muḫḫûtum) conveyed another message of Annunitum meant for him, according to which he should remain in Mari and avoid travel, as it will let the goddess continue to communicate with him.

[1] A letter from the scholar Mār-Ištar to a Neo-Assyrian ruler, most likely Esarhaddon, mentions the repair of statues representing her, Nanaya, Uṣur-amāssu, Kurunnītu and dIGI.DU.

[1] Paul-Alain Beaulieu suggests she might have been one of the minor goddesses worshiped in the Eanna complex, similarly to Aḫlamayītu, Bēlet-balāṭi, Kurunnītu and Kanisurra, and that members of this group were collectively referred to as "the ladies" (dGAŠAN.MEŠ = dbēlētu), but stresses the evidence is inconclusive.

[98] In the Seleucid period, she might have been one of the deities celebrated during the akītu festival of Ishtar, which focused on her various local manifestations (such as Urkayītu and Bēlet-Eanna of Udannu) and courtiers (such as Kilili).

[104] An Old Babylonian prayer additionally associated Annunitum with the E-turkalamma ("house, cattle pen of the land"), though the main deity of this temple was Bēlet-Bābili (Ishtar of Babylon).

[105] In the Ur III period a shrine dedicated to Annunitum existed near Eresh, though it ceased to function in the third decade of Shulgi's reign.

[110] The local ruler Takil-ilissu mentioned her alongside Ulmašītum, Anu, Ninshubur, Dan-bītum and Rašub-bītum in a foundation inscription imploring them to punish anyone who would destroy this text.

[114] Texts from the same city contemporary with Old Babylonian sources from Mesopotamia mention priests in her service and preserve a number of theophoric names invoking her.

[118] Nakata points out that the theonym Annu is largely absent from texts from Mari despite commonly appearing in theophoric names, and compares this phenomenon to the similar cases of Admu and Kakka.

[122] Antoine Cavigneaux and Manfred Krebernik [de] suggest that it might be a variant of Annu, and point out that dnu-nu, while possible to interpret as Nunu with a determinative designating this word as theonym, can also be read as an-nu-nu.