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The .577/450 Martini Henry was a black powder, center fire round used by the British and British Empire armies prior to the adoption of the .303 British Cartridge Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles. It was based upon the same separate steel head used for the .577 Snider cartridge, with a wrapped foil body with a nominally .45 caliber bullet.

The Martini-Henry single shot lever action rifle had a Martini designed action married with the unique rifling designed by Alexander Henry. The first three patterns or "Marks" where equipped with a shorter lever, which was extended in the Mark IV pattern to address extraction problems in some climants. The Mark IV was the final and most refined form of the rifle in 577/450, but was already obsolete owing to the pending adoption of a smokeless powder small bore cartridge, which became the .303. The Mark IV was relegated primarily to colonial service. This caliber and the Martini-Henry rifle are most famous for their use by British Forces during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 which included the Battle of Isandlwana and the Battle of Rorke's Drift.