Michael J Decker
Biographic Data
| ID | 152907 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael J Decker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael J |
| FAMILY NAME | Decker |
| SIGNATURE | DECKER M J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Case Western Reserve University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4792-4692 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 28 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 27 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
The Cambridge Handbook to Byzantine Archaeology
The archaeology of Byzantium is the archaeology of an empire whose chronological bounds, broadly speaking, spanned the fourth through fifteenth century AD. The authors whose works are collected in this handbook examine methods and practice of Byzantine archaeology as well as the materials typically encountered in artifacts produced within the imperial boundaries. Byzantine archaeology is still a relatively young discipline, and, while vast in its…
Worlds of Byzantium
Worlds of Byzantium offers a new understanding of what it means to study the history and visual culture of the Byzantine empire during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Arguing that linguistic and cultural frontiers do not always coincide with political ones, it suggests that Byzantine studies should look not only within but also beyond the borders of the Byzantine empire and include the history of Christian populations in the Muslim-ruled Midd…
Early Islamic North Africa
This volume proposes a new approach to the Arab conquests and the spread of Islam in North Africa. In recent years, those studying the Islamic world have shown that the coming of Islam was not marked by devastation or decline, but rather by considerable cultural and economic continuity. In North Africa, with continuity came significant change. Corisande Fenwick argues that the establishment of Muslim rule also coincided with a phase of intense ur…
David A. Graff. The Eurasian Way of War
At first glance, a monograph whose author compares Byzantium with China is surprising. But both civilizations shared centuries of political and cultural persistence, and both were states in the proper sense, with developed bureaucracies, standing armies, literate elite professional administrators, and durable institutions that survived chaotic periods when the head of state was either weak or entirely absent. Skeptics may reasonably posit that tw…
Persecution, religious, Byzantine
Unlike the religious bigotry and chauvinism ingrained in Byzantine society and formalized in its laws, Byzantium witnessed relatively few persecutions motivated by faith.
Theophilos of Edessa
Theophilos was born in Edessa, northern Syria (now Sanliurfa, Turkey) ca. 695 CE and died in 785.
Ghassanids
The Ghassanids migrated from South Arabia to Syria in the late fifth century CE and in the early sixth century became Byzantium's principal Arab allies.
Factories, Late Roman and Byzantine
Diocletian (r. 284–305 CE ) and the emperors of the Tetrarchy (r. 293–313) created imperial arms factories, the fabricate (singular, fabrica ), throughout the empire by moving skilled specialists from legionary foundries and civilian artisans into urban compounds that contained workshops, warehouses, and barracks housing hundreds of workers.
Agriculture, Byzantine
Byzantine agriculture inherited traditions from the Hellenistic and Roman worlds and built substantially upon them.
Lakhmids
An Arab tribe that tradition states to have been of Yemeni origin, by the fourth century CE the Lakhmids lived across northern Syria and Iraq.
Yarmuk, battle of
The Battle of Yarmuk, or Jabiya‐Yarmuk – Jabiya being an encampment where some sources place some phases of the battle – is widely considered the decisive encounter between the Byzantine and Arab armies of Islam for dominance over Syria–Palestine. Full reconstruction is impossible due to source problems. There is no contemporary Greek account of the battle and only cursory references in Syriac and Armenian histories. No contemporary Muslim accoun…
Mines, mining, Greek and Roman
The earliest mining activities began in the Neolithic (9000 BCE onwards) and were small‐scale affairs, generally confined to tapping flint for tool‐making.
Transport, Byzantine
Transport in Byzantium was generally terrestrial and inevitably involved local transit over distances easily covered by human porters or ox‐carts in the space of a day (30–50 km).
Muawiya
Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan was born ca. 600 CE , son of Abi Sufyan and founder of the Umayyad Dynasty that ruled the Islamic empire from 661–750 CE .
Markets, Byzantine
Byzantium inherited concepts of commercial space from the Greek and Roman worlds.
Trade, Byzantine
In the early imperial period (fourth through seventh centuries ce ), local, regional, and long‐distance trade was flourishing throughout most of the Byzantine Empire.
Umayyads
Founded by Muawiya b. Abi Sufyan, caliph 661–680 CE , the Umayyads were the first dynasty to rule the Islamic world. They inherited an expansionist imperialist project with a new religion still in its formative phase and Arab backers whose loyalties were often in conflict with the caliphs. There is a particular dearth of sources from the Syrian Umayyad powerbase to counter the prevailing negative image crafted later under the Abbasids.
Qasr ibn Wardan
An enigmatic complex situated 50 km northeast of Hama and 20 km southwest of al‐Andarin (ancient Androna) in north‐central Syria, Qasr ibn Wardan (ancient name unknown) comprises a palace, church, and a 50 × 50 m quadrangular edifice.
Harun al‐Rashid
Harun al‐Rashid was born in Ray in northern Iran around 766 CE ; he was the third son of the ‘Abb asid caliph al‐Mahdi (775–85) and a Yemeni slave, Khaizuran.
Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia
Land of Beautiful Horses
Well before the Byzantine era, Cappadocia was famous for its horses. So much so, in fact, that the name Cappadocia may be traced to the ancient Persian Katpaktukya , meaning ‘land of beautiful horses’. Tradition holds that the custom of giving horses as tribute originated here, although this is almost certainly untrue, and ancient sources mention gifts (or tribute, depending on one’s perspective) of horses presented to kings such as the Assyrian …
Percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin among Bolivian Aymara at 3,900-4,000 m
A range of variation in percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SaO2) among healthy individuals at a given high altitude indicates differences in physiological hypoxemia despite uniform ambient hypoxic stress. In populations native to the Tibetan plateau, a significant portion of the variance is attributable to additive genetic factors, and there is a major gene influencing SaO2. To determine whether there is genetic variance in othe…
Percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin among Bolivian Aymara at 3,900–4,000 m
A range of variation in percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SaO2) among healthy individuals at a given high altitude indicates differences in physiological hypoxemia despite uniform ambient hypoxic stress. In populations native to the Tibetan plateau, a significant portion of the variance is attributable to additive genetic factors, and there is a major gene influencing SaO2. To determine whether there is genetic variance in othe…
Hemoglobin concentration of high-altitude Tibetans and Bolivian Aymara
Elevated hemoglobin concentrations have been reported for high-altitude sojourners and Andean high-altitude natives since early in the 20th century. Thus, reports that have appeared since the 1970s describing relatively low hemoglobin concentration among Tibetan high-altitude natives were unexpected. These suggested a hypothesis of population differences in hematological response to high-altitude hypoxia. A case of quantitatively different respon…
Hemoglobin concentration of high‐altitude Tibetans and Bolivian Aymara
Elevated hemoglobin concentrations have been reported for high-altitude sojourners and Andean high-altitude natives since early in the 20th century. Thus, reports that have appeared since the 1970s describing relatively low hemoglobin concentration among Tibetan high-altitude natives were unexpected. These suggested a hypothesis of population differences in hematological response to high-altitude hypoxia. A case of quantitatively different respon…
No prominent works on this page.
Ventilation and hypoxic ventilatory response of Tibetan and Aymara high altitude natives
Ventilation and hypoxic ventilatory response of Tibetan and Aymara high altitude natives
Newcomers acclimatizing to high altitude and adult male Tibetan high altitude natives have increased ventilation relative to sea level natives at sea level. However, Andean and Rocky Mountain high altitude natives have an intermediate level of ventilation lower than that of newcomers and Tibetan high altitude natives although generally higher than that of sea level natives at sea level. Because the reason for the relative hypoventilation of some …
Blood pressure variation among Ethiopians on the Simien Plateau
This report presents information on determinants of blood pressure variation in a rural sample of 263 Ethiopian highlanders 14-86 years of age, resident at 3530 m on the Simien Plateau. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures for males and females were 109/ 75 and 106/73, respectively, and there were no age differences. These findings confirmed that men and women can have low normal blood pressure throughout adulthood. Blood pressures increas…
Hemoglobin concentration of high-altitude Tibetans and Bolivian Aymara
Elevated hemoglobin concentrations have been reported for high-altitude sojourners and Andean high-altitude natives since early in the 20th century. Thus, reports that have appeared since the 1970s describing relatively low hemoglobin concentration among Tibetan high-altitude natives were unexpected. These suggested a hypothesis of population differences in hematological response to high-altitude hypoxia. A case of quantitatively different respon…
Hemoglobin concentration of high‐altitude Tibetans and Bolivian Aymara
Elevated hemoglobin concentrations have been reported for high-altitude sojourners and Andean high-altitude natives since early in the 20th century. Thus, reports that have appeared since the 1970s describing relatively low hemoglobin concentration among Tibetan high-altitude natives were unexpected. These suggested a hypothesis of population differences in hematological response to high-altitude hypoxia. A case of quantitatively different respon…
Percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin among Bolivian Aymara at 3,900-4,000 m
A range of variation in percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SaO2) among healthy individuals at a given high altitude indicates differences in physiological hypoxemia despite uniform ambient hypoxic stress. In populations native to the Tibetan plateau, a significant portion of the variance is attributable to additive genetic factors, and there is a major gene influencing SaO2. To determine whether there is genetic variance in othe…
Percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin among Bolivian Aymara at 3,900–4,000 m
A range of variation in percent of oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (SaO2) among healthy individuals at a given high altitude indicates differences in physiological hypoxemia despite uniform ambient hypoxic stress. In populations native to the Tibetan plateau, a significant portion of the variance is attributable to additive genetic factors, and there is a major gene influencing SaO2. To determine whether there is genetic variance in othe…
Persecution, religious, Byzantine
Unlike the religious bigotry and chauvinism ingrained in Byzantine society and formalized in its laws, Byzantium witnessed relatively few persecutions motivated by faith.
Theophilos of Edessa
Theophilos was born in Edessa, northern Syria (now Sanliurfa, Turkey) ca. 695 CE and died in 785.
Ghassanids
The Ghassanids migrated from South Arabia to Syria in the late fifth century CE and in the early sixth century became Byzantium's principal Arab allies.
Factories, Late Roman and Byzantine
Diocletian (r. 284–305 CE ) and the emperors of the Tetrarchy (r. 293–313) created imperial arms factories, the fabricate (singular, fabrica ), throughout the empire by moving skilled specialists from legionary foundries and civilian artisans into urban compounds that contained workshops, warehouses, and barracks housing hundreds of workers.
Agriculture, Byzantine
Byzantine agriculture inherited traditions from the Hellenistic and Roman worlds and built substantially upon them.
Lakhmids
An Arab tribe that tradition states to have been of Yemeni origin, by the fourth century CE the Lakhmids lived across northern Syria and Iraq.
Yarmuk, battle of
The Battle of Yarmuk, or Jabiya‐Yarmuk – Jabiya being an encampment where some sources place some phases of the battle – is widely considered the decisive encounter between the Byzantine and Arab armies of Islam for dominance over Syria–Palestine. Full reconstruction is impossible due to source problems. There is no contemporary Greek account of the battle and only cursory references in Syriac and Armenian histories. No contemporary Muslim accoun…
Mines, mining, Greek and Roman
The earliest mining activities began in the Neolithic (9000 BCE onwards) and were small‐scale affairs, generally confined to tapping flint for tool‐making.
Transport, Byzantine
Transport in Byzantium was generally terrestrial and inevitably involved local transit over distances easily covered by human porters or ox‐carts in the space of a day (30–50 km).
Muawiya
Mu‘awiya b. Abi Sufyan was born ca. 600 CE , son of Abi Sufyan and founder of the Umayyad Dynasty that ruled the Islamic empire from 661–750 CE .
Markets, Byzantine
Byzantium inherited concepts of commercial space from the Greek and Roman worlds.
Trade, Byzantine
In the early imperial period (fourth through seventh centuries ce ), local, regional, and long‐distance trade was flourishing throughout most of the Byzantine Empire.
Umayyads
Founded by Muawiya b. Abi Sufyan, caliph 661–680 CE , the Umayyads were the first dynasty to rule the Islamic world. They inherited an expansionist imperialist project with a new religion still in its formative phase and Arab backers whose loyalties were often in conflict with the caliphs. There is a particular dearth of sources from the Syrian Umayyad powerbase to counter the prevailing negative image crafted later under the Abbasids.
Qasr ibn Wardan
An enigmatic complex situated 50 km northeast of Hama and 20 km southwest of al‐Andarin (ancient Androna) in north‐central Syria, Qasr ibn Wardan (ancient name unknown) comprises a palace, church, and a 50 × 50 m quadrangular edifice.
Harun al‐Rashid
Harun al‐Rashid was born in Ray in northern Iran around 766 CE ; he was the third son of the ‘Abb asid caliph al‐Mahdi (775–85) and a Yemeni slave, Khaizuran.
Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia
Land of Beautiful Horses
Well before the Byzantine era, Cappadocia was famous for its horses. So much so, in fact, that the name Cappadocia may be traced to the ancient Persian Katpaktukya , meaning ‘land of beautiful horses’. Tradition holds that the custom of giving horses as tribute originated here, although this is almost certainly untrue, and ancient sources mention gifts (or tribute, depending on one’s perspective) of horses presented to kings such as the Assyrian …
David A. Graff. The Eurasian Way of War
At first glance, a monograph whose author compares Byzantium with China is surprising. But both civilizations shared centuries of political and cultural persistence, and both were states in the proper sense, with developed bureaucracies, standing armies, literate elite professional administrators, and durable institutions that survived chaotic periods when the head of state was either weak or entirely absent. Skeptics may reasonably posit that tw…
History (15 works) · Ancient history (14 works) · Geography (12 works) · Archaeology (11 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (10 works) · Byzantine architecture (10 works) · Byzantine Studies and History (10 works) · Art (7 works) · High Altitude and Hypoxia (6 works) · Altitude (triangle) (5 works)