What Leonardo da Vinci war machine was a chariot equipped with rotating blades?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a scythed chariot with rotating blades intended to cut through groups of enemy soldiers.

The concept placed long, curved blades on a rotating mechanism connected to a chariot. As the vehicle moved, the blades were intended to sweep around it, creating a dangerous area near the wheels. Leonardo’s drawing belongs to his wider body of military engineering studies, which included vehicles, artillery, bridges, and fortification ideas.

The design was not a modern tank and should not be confused with Leonardo’s armored vehicle. A scythed chariot was an open vehicle whose weapon was the rotating blade, while the armored vehicle concept emphasized protection. Ancient armies had used scythed chariots before Leonardo, so his contribution was a Renaissance reworking of an older weapon concept rather than the invention of the general idea.