What rotating military machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to cut through enemy soldiers?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a rotating scythed chariot intended to cut through enemy soldiers.

The machine combined a horse-drawn platform with rotating blades mounted on a horizontal mechanism. As the blades turned, they were meant to strike opponents near the vehicle. Leonardo’s drawing presents the device as a weapon of psychological as well as physical impact, since a fast-moving chariot with spinning blades would be terrifying on a battlefield.

The design was not a wholly original invention. Scythed chariots had been used in the ancient world, especially in Persian warfare, and Leonardo’s study reworked the idea with Renaissance mechanical detail. The drawing does not prove that the machine was built or tested.

It is also different from Leonardo’s armored fighting vehicle. The scythed chariot emphasizes speed and rotating blades, whereas the armored vehicle emphasizes protection and cannon fire. Both belong to Leonardo’s broader studies of military engineering.