Leonardo da Vinci designed a scythed chariot with blades mounted beside its wheels.
Leonardo’s drawing shows a horse-drawn vehicle fitted with rotating blades extending outward near the wheels. The design was intended to threaten or disrupt groups of soldiers as the chariot moved through a battlefield. It belongs to his late-fifteenth-century military studies, which included many proposed machines for offense, defense, and transport.
The concept was not Leonardo’s original invention in the broad historical sense. Scythed chariots were associated with ancient armies, especially in descriptions of Persian warfare. Leonardo adapted the old idea into a Renaissance mechanical design, adding a more elaborate arrangement of moving parts.
The chariot should not be confused with Leonardo’s spring-powered self-propelled cart. The self-propelled cart was a transport and theatrical machine, whereas the scythed chariot was a weapon concept pulled by horses. There is no strong evidence that Leonardo’s version was built and used in battle.