What Leonardo da Vinci battlefield vehicle used scythes mounted on rotating wheels?

Leonardo da Vinci’s scythed chariot was a battlefield vehicle fitted with rotating wheels carrying blades or scythes.

The design appears among Leonardo’s military studies, where he investigated ways to make a moving vehicle more dangerous to soldiers nearby. The scythes were arranged to sweep around the chariot as it moved, potentially cutting through formations or discouraging attackers from approaching.

Leonardo did not invent the general idea of the scythed chariot. Ancient armies, especially those associated with the Persian world, had used chariots fitted with blades long before the Renaissance. His drawing was a Renaissance reworking of an older military concept, adapted through his interest in mechanical motion.

The machine is often presented as a practical Leonardo invention, but surviving evidence mainly documents a design rather than a proven battlefield machine. It should also be distinguished from his armored vehicle, which emphasized protection and cannon fire rather than rotating blades.