who held the command of the Cibyratae in the fleet of Leontius II., was proclaimed emperor by the mutinous soldiers and sailors, and, returning to Constantinople, he usurped the throne and put Leontius in prison, A. D. 698. [LEONTIUS II.] The usurper added to his name Absimarus, the respected name of Tiberius. His brother Heraclius, whom he appointed to conduct the war against the Arabs, invaded Syria (A. D. 699-700), and treated the inhabitants with the most inhuman cruelty. The events of this usurper's reign are unimportant. The strangeness of his rise was only equalled by the suddenness of his fall, and by the restoration to the imperial throne of Justinian II. (A. D. 704), who had been expelled by Leontius [JUSTINIANUS II.], as Leontius was expelled by Tiberius.
[G.L]A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890