What war machine did Leonardo da Vinci sketch with blades mounted on rotating wheels?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a scythed chariot, a war machine with blades mounted on rotating wheels.

His design showed a horse-drawn chariot equipped with long blades extending from rotating assemblies. As the chariot moved, the blades were intended to sweep through nearby enemy troops. Leonardo’s version belonged to a long tradition of ancient and Renaissance interest in weaponized chariots.

The concept was highly dangerous to operate. A fast-moving vehicle carrying rotating blades could threaten its own crew and horses as well as opponents. Like many of Leonardo’s military designs, it survives mainly as an engineering study rather than a proven battlefield machine.

Scythed chariots were not Leonardo’s original invention. Ancient armies, including forces associated with the Persian Empire and later Hellenistic rulers, had used or described similar weapons. Leonardo redesigned the idea with Renaissance mechanical detail.