How could we have Rome invest in or succeed in conquering Gaul earlier, or have Greece and Carthage hold out till much later while not derailing the conquest of Gaul in OTL's timeframe?
Gaul already was relatively sophisticated, with complex economies, an urbanized population, state structures to and coopt. Indeed, that's pretty much exactly how the Romans did it in the wars of Caesar. They're not as attractive to a conqueror compared to Gaul or Carthage for several reasons. As fertile and rich as Gaul was, it's still not Carthage, the gem of the Western Mediterranean and the greatest threat Rome ever faced. Moreover, an invasion of Gaul involves a lot of expensive overland transportation, whereas pretty much all of Carthage's economically important assets can be reached from the sea in a couple days at the most.Have Gaul have something more worth putting the time and effort needed to subdue it. Carthage and Greece are just easier/cheaper to administer with settled populations, civil structures that can be co-opted, existing complex economies, a settled rather than constantly shifting/getting shoved around population ect. One needs to remember that during the time of the Punic Wars, Cisalpine Gaul/North Italy was still mainly Celtic; indeed, new Celtic groups kept getting pushed in (and thus raided into Roman lands, which is what brought the Romans to push back north in the first place) by others on the opposite side of the Alps.
Gaul already was relatively sophisticated, with complex economies, an urbanized population, state structures to and coopt. Indeed, that's pretty much exactly how the Romans did it in the wars of Caesar. They're not as attractive to a conqueror compared to Gaul or Carthage for several reasons. As fertile and rich as Gaul was, it's still not Carthage, the gem of the Western Mediterranean and the greatest threat Rome ever faced. Moreover, an invasion of Gaul involves a lot of expensive overland transportation, whereas pretty much all of Carthage's economically important assets can be reached from the sea in a couple days at the most.
Gaul already was relatively sophisticated, with complex economies, an urbanized population, state structures to and coopt. Indeed, that's pretty much exactly how the Romans did it in the wars of Caesar. They're not as attractive to a conqueror compared to Gaul or Carthage for several reasons. As fertile and rich as Gaul was, it's still not Carthage, the gem of the Western Mediterranean and the greatest threat Rome ever faced. Moreover, an invasion of Gaul involves a lot of expensive overland transportation, whereas pretty much all of Carthage's economically important assets can be reached from the sea in a couple days at the most.