"Given the great interest that the Circassian struggle against Russia has aroused in Europe for the past decade, I deemed it appropriate to compile the facts scattered throughout a multitude of works of all kinds concerning the origin, history, religious and civil constitution, as well as the customs and traditions of this valiant people. This was intended to allow for a better understanding of the Circassians, as has been the case until now, and also to enable a full appreciation of the Russian war against them. In the following work, all available, reliable information has been combined into an ethnographic portrait, so that the discerning historian will find here all the facts known up to the year 1840 about the inhabitants of the western Caucasus, in every respect and from the most diverse perspectives—facts which, under current circumstances, are unlikely to be increased in the coming years."