Scythed chariot The scythed chariot was a war chariot with scythe blades mounted on each side , employed in ancient times . History . The scythed chariot was a modified war chariot . The blades extended horizontally for about to each side of the wheels . The Greek general Xenophon ( 430−354 BC ) , an eyewitness at the battle of Cunaxa , tells of them : " These had thin scythes extending at an angle from the axles and also under the driver ' s seat , turned toward the ground " . Serated bronze blades for chariot wheels have also been excavated from Chou - era pre - imperial Chinese sites . Dismissing completely 17th to 19th century ideas of a Canaan ite , Assyrian , Indian or Macedonia n origin , Nefiodkin also challenges Xenophon ' s attribution of scythed chariots to the first Persian king Cyrus , pointing to their notable absence in the invasion of Greece ( 480−479 BC ) by one of his successors , Xerxes I . Instead , he argues that the Persians introduced scythed chariots sometime later during the Greco - Persian Wars , between 467 BC and 458 BC , as a response to their experience fighting against Greek heavy infantry . Persian wars . The scythed chariot was pulled by a team of four horses and manned by a crew of up to three men , one driver and two warriors . Theoretically the scythed chariot would plow through infantry lines , cutting combatants in half or at least opening gaps in the line which could be exploited . It was difficult to get horses to charge into the tight phalanx formation of the Greek / Macedonian hoplite s ( infantry ) . The scythed chariot avoided this inherent problem for cavalry , by the scythe cutting into the formation , even when the horses avoided the men . A disciplined army could diverge as the chariot approached , and then re - form quickly behind it , allowing the chariot to pass without causing many casualties . War chariots had limited military capabilities . They were strictly an offensive weapon and were best suited against infantry in open flat country where the charioteers had room to maneuver . At a time when cavalry were without stirrups , and probably had neither spur s nor an effective saddle , though they certainly had saddle blankets , scythed chariots added weight to a cavalry attack on infantry . Historical sources come from the infantry side of such engagements i . e . the Greek and Roman side . Here is one recorded encounter where scythed chariots were on the winning side : The soldiers had got into the habit of collecting their supplies carelessly and without taking precautions . There was one occasion when Pharnabazus , with 2 scythed chariots and about 400 cavalry , came on them when they were scattered all over the plain . When the Greeks saw him bearing down on them , they ran to join up with each other , about 700 altogether ; but Pharnabazus did not waste time . Putting the chariots in front , and following behind them himself with the cavalry , he ordered a charge . The chariots dashing into the Greek ranks , broke up their close formation , and the cavalry soon cut down about a hundred men . The rest fled and took refuge with Agesilaus , who happened to be close at hand with the hoplites . The only other example of their successful use seems to be when units of Mithradates VI of Pontus defeated a Bithynian force on the River Amnias in 89BC . ( Appian ) One of the most notable defeats to the Persian scythed chariot was in combat against the Macedonian phalanx led by Alexander the Great . Realizing that the chariots were already a cumbersome element of the Persian army ( as shock units are prone to be ) led by Darius III , the phalangites were instructed to increase this disadvantage . At the last seconds before the chariots would close with infantry , the phalangites would quickly fold into an enveloping formation in the shape of an E , where the middle tab would be the chariot . By doing this , the chariots would be trapped by the bodies of soldiers it killed , and the long Greek sarissa . This particular tactic was most successful at the Battle of Gaugamela , where Darius fled . Roman encounters . Despite these shortcomings , scythed chariots were used with some success by the Persians , the kingdoms of the Hellenistic Era . They are last known to have been used at the Battle of Zela in 47 BC . The Romans are reported to have defeated this weapon system , not necessarily at this battle , with caltrops . On other occasions the Romans fixed vertical posts in the ground behind which their infantry were safe ( Frontinus " Stratagems " 2 , 3 , 17 - 18 ) There is a statement in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae Severus Alexander LV that he captured 1 , 800 scythed chariots . This is universally regarded as false . Late in the Imperial period , the Romans might have experimented with an unusual variant of the idea that called for cataphract - style lancers to sit on a pair or a single horse drawing a " chariot " reduced to a bare axle with wheels , where the blades were only lowered into the fighting position at the last moment . This would have facilitated manoeuvring before battle . This at least is a reasonable interpretation of the rather enigmatic de Rebus Bellicis section 12 - 14 . ( Most probably the dual - horse version was a practical weapon which inspired the single - horse version as an underpowered paper innovation by the armchair author of this text . ) Saharan tribes . In the northern Sahara nomadic tribes called Pharusii and Nigrites used scythed chariots c . 22 AD , as Strabo reports : " They have chariots also , armed with scythes . " Britain and Ireland . The following statement about the British was made c . 44 AD , immediately after the Roman invasion of 43 AD . They make war not only on horseback but also from 2 horse chariots and cars armed in the Gallic fashion – they call them covinni – on which they use axles equipped with scythes . No one knows how much value to give to this statement . There is the deep suspicion that it reflects Claudian propaganda to add glory to the Roman invasion of Britain by making the Britons more sophisticated than they were . There is no accepted archaeological evidence concerning scythed chariots . There are some large heavy scythe blades from late Roman Britain which are too unwieldy for a man to use . However a scythed chariot appears in the The Cattle - Raid of Cooley ( Táin Bó Cúailnge ) , the central epic of the Ulster cycle of Early Irish literature . Leonardo da Vinci . One of Leonardo da Vinci ' s ideas was a scythed chariot . In the Discovery Channel show " Doing Da Vinci , " the team built Leonardo ' s design for a scythed chariot and proved the functionality of the weapon . Popular culture . Scythed chariots have appeared in several films . A scythed chariot can be seen in the chariot race depicted in the film " Ben Hur " , operated by Messala . Scythed chariots are seen in the first Colosseum scene in the film " Gladiator " . In the film " Alexander " by Oliver Stone , scythed chariots are shown charging into Macedonian phalanx during the beginning of Battle of Gaugamela scene . The chariots were also used in older films such as " Solomon and Sheba " . It was also shown in the 2011 film " The Eagle " . In the Spike TV show " Deadliest Warrior " , a scythed chariot was the special weapon of the Persian Immortal . Applying similar blades to automobiles instead of chariots is a common trend in modern culture . In " Goldfinger " , James Bond ' s Aston Martin DB5 has a wheel - destroying spike inspired by " Ben - Hur " s scythed chariot . An episode of Mythbusters was devoted to testing such a device . Such devices were deemed " confirmed " , noting that while blade durability may be low , such a device was highly effective at not only destroying tires , but could also detach wheels or injure the opposing driver .