Scythed Chariot

By Crusader1307

The Scythed Chariot was designed as a war weapon. Developed around the 4th Century B.C. - The Scythed Chariot was incorporated in many ancient Army inventories. The primary design of the Chariot itself was along the lines of a Biga. The innovation was with the wheel hubs. They featured a mounted 3 foot long Scythe-like sword device. As the wheel would rotate, The Scythe extension would spin. A Chariot driver would aim his vehicle straight for advancing Infantry – and plow right threw them as far as he could. The result was many dismembered soldiers. The Scythe Chariot was a true early psychological warfare weapon. The Persian Empire used them exclusively (having many hundreds of Squadrons). They were deployed against Macedonian Leader Alexander (with great effective). Ancient Rome experimented briefly with Scythed Chariots (The Battle of Zela, 47 B.C.). Caltrop devices proved an effective means of stopping these chariots (as the horses would be severely injured and could not pull their chariots).