 Constituted under the form of a regiment of Dragoon (the mounted cavalry) during the Ancien Regime by the Marquis de Barbezières at Languedoc in 1676, this cavalry regiment, one of the oldest, adopted the nomination of 13th Dragoon Regiment () during the reorganization of the French cavalry in 1791.The regiment was transformed into an armored corps in 1936, then an airborne-capable reconnaissance unit in 1952.Like many regiments in European militaries of the 17th and 18th centuries the regiment often changed name to reflect its current commander or patron.