In the Ancient World, were river naval battles ever fought?

by Dangerously_Slavic

For example, were any battles ever fought along the Po, Tigris, Euphrates or any other large river.

ianwill93

Certainly there were! The Ancient Egyptians fought in some riverine battles throughout history, the most famous being the battle against the Sea Peoples on the Nile in the reign of Ramesses III.

There are some other potential riverine battles that could've taken place prior to this, but they can't be definitively proven yet.

An example of that sort that some use is found in the time of Ahmose son of Ibana. He was a soldier serving in King Ahmose I's army against the Hyksos.

To quote him loosely: "I was appointed to 'Appearing in Memphis' the ship. One was fighting on the waters of the Djeku canal in Avaris." From that battle, he managed to take an enemy's hand in supposed close quarters combat.

Because he says that it was "on the water in the delta", some place it as a naval battle where the marines would try to board the enemy boat and fight in melee combat. (Sources: Columns 8-10 of the Autobiography of Ahmose son of Ibana)

The most popular Ancient Egyptian naval battle, is the aforementioned battle in Ramesses III's time.

Ramesses didn't fight the better sea-faring vessels of the Aegean Sea Peoples out in the open water, but instead lured them into a trap by fighting them in the Nile Delta.

Using reliefs of the battle found at Medinet Habu as a guide, it would've involved extensive boarding operations. However, the reliefs also display heavy usage of archers on land and on the ships. In the images, the Egyptians show their ships as having high aftcastles from which the archers could fire. From this battle, Ramesses would repulse the invasion/forced settlement of the Sea Peoples.

Sources: War in Ancient Egypt by Anthony Spalinger, Ramesses III: The Life and Times of Egypt's Last Hero by Eric Cline and David O'Connor, and The Sea Peoples and Their World: A Reassessment by various.

Hope this helps!