Hyderabad is the capital of the state Andhra Pradesh, India.

Hyderabad has developed into one of the major hubs for the information technology industry in India which has earned it the additional sobriquet "Cyberabad". In addition to the IT industry, various biotechnology and pharmaceutics companies have set up their operations in Hyderabad owing to its established Public sector in Life Science Research and Genome Valley. The city houses the most expensive residential real estate in Andhra Pradesh in Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills. The city is home to the Telugu Film Industry, either the second- or third-largest in India, depending on the the basis of measurement, known popularly as Tollywood. Residents of Hyderabad are generally called Hyderabadis. Located at the crossroads of North and South India, Hyderabad has developed a unique culture that is reflected in its language and architecture.

Although Hyderabad was founded less than 500 years ago. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (the ruling family of the Golconda Sultanate, previously a feudatory of Bahmani sultanate that declared independence in 1512) founded the city of Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591 to relieve a water shortage the dynasty had experienced at its old headquarters at Golconda city(11 kilometers west of Hyderabad city on the other side of Musi). He also ordered the construction of the Charminar.

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty built Charminar in 1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what is now known as Hyderabad.