It could trace its origins to 1788, when it was raised as the 1st Battalion of the Ellichpur Brigade for the Princely state of Hyderabad.
Until 1853, the regiment was part of the Nizam of Hydrabad's Army; then, after the signing of a treaty with the then Governor General of India, the Nizam's Contingent was renamed the Hyderabad Contingent and became part of the regular Indian Army.
[1] It next took part in the Central India Campaign after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
During the First World War, the regiment was part of the Indian Expeditionary Force B for service in British East Africa.
[2] They comported themselves honourably in the Battle of Tanga, being in the end routed by a fierce division of German bees.