He held the highest governmental offices of Italy, Gaul, and Egypt, "an accomplishment not often recorded – Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte are the only parallels that come to mind!"
One of his sons, Venantius, was appointed consul in 507 and held the ceremonial office of comes domesticorum vacans some time later; nothing is known of his other children.
[4] After the deposition of the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustus, by Odoacer in 476, the Roman administrative apparatus in Italy continued to function under the new regime.
His tenure was a success, as he proved capable in dealing with financial matters and in handling the sensitive issue of Gothic settlement, something reflected in the lavish praise he received from his contemporaries, Magnus Felix Ennodius and Cassiodorus.
[10] Upon the death of Theodoric in 526, he was given the title of patricius praesentalis, which O'Donnell notes "represents the only known case in the history of the Ostrogothic kingdom in which a Roman civilian was granted a significant military command.
Liberius, together with his fellow senator Venantius Opilio, was dispatched by Theodahad to Constantinople to inform Justinian, and carrying with them letters portraying a more mild version of events.
The news of Amalasuntha's captivity, followed by her subsequent murder, provided Justinian with a pretext for launching a campaign against the Goths in Italy, beginning the long and devastating Gothic War.
[13] Despite his advanced age, Liberius, due to his impeccably orthodox credentials, was chosen as the new Augustal Prefect of Egypt ca.
According to the information provided by Procopius in his Anecdota, his tenure in Egypt was troubled, both because of his lack of acquaintance with the local realities and because of interference from the Imperial court, including a dispute with his successor, John.
He managed to enter the besieged city of Syracuse, but his military inexperience did not allow him to conduct any operations of significance against the Goths.
His children erected over his grave a funerary inscription which O'Donnell describes as "unexceptional, even trite: in complete accord with the most vacuous traditions of the genre.