 Despite the withdrawal of Tiberius from Rome's political scene, the presence of Livia seems to have checked Sejanus' overt power for a time. According to Tacitus, her death in 29 changed all that. Sejanus began a series of purge trials of senators and wealthy equestrians in the city, removing those capable of opposing his power as well as extending the imperial (and his own) treasury. Networks of spies and informers brought the victims to trial with false accusations of treason, and many chose suicide over the disgrace of being condemned and executed. Among those who perished were Gaius Asinius Gallus, a prominent senator and opponent of Tiberius who was linked to Agrippina's faction. Agrippina and two of her sons, Nero and Drusus were arrested and exiled in 30 and later starved to death in suspicious circumstances. Only Caligula, as the last remaining son of Germanicus, managed to survive the purges of Sejanus and that he did by moving to Capri with Tiberius in 31.
