Michael Russell (1781-1848) has combined the constitution, the antiquities, the religion, the literature, and even the statistics of, the Hebrews combined with the narrative of their rise and fall in the sacred land bestowed upon their fathers in writing Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. An excerpt from the Introduction reads, "The history of Palestine, prior to the Fall of Jerusalem, rests upon the authority of the inspired writers, or of those annalists, such as Josephus and Tacitus, who flourished at the period of the events which they describe. The narrative, which brings down the fortunes of that remarkable country to the present day, is much more various both in its subject and references; more especially where it embraces the exploits of the Crusaders, those renowned devotees of religion, romance, and chivalry."