what if the Celts had conquered Rome?

What if when the Galli managed to occupy Rome herself and several other Italian cities, they had decided to conquer, instead of loot? IRL they were easily bought off, but what if they were semi-United and their king wanted lands for his people to settle or slave states or something that made the Celts stay in their conquered lands?
 
The expedition on Rome seems to have been a raid (would it be only because a large part of raiders didn't settle in Italy eventually) and/or, if you trust Roman historians, an expedition to prevent Romans to help Etruscean and northern Italic peoples to intervene on Northern Italy.

Paduan basin seems to have interested them more, for obvious reasons (more wealth).

You'd need more Celts (rather than Gauls*, many Celts in Italy being issued from diverse fractions whom some settled in Gaul, other didn't or did only later. It's as well possible that we're talking of two distinct peoples with roughly the same name) and more issues in others regions to motivate them to do so.

Now, I'm not too sure what you call semi-united. Each people worked his way idependently. It could means alliance with others peoples (Celts or not), but you can't really tell of a Celtic unity (even if really reduced) then.

Assuming they take not only the southern part of Po's basin, but as well Tiber's (and again, that would ask for a far more important Celtic presence, which would make an earlier PoD necessary, and plausibility may not be on your side depending which you would choose) : it's probable these Celts would be more or less Italicized.

Not by Romans, obviously, but probably trough contact or conquest with peoples such as Samnits or Etrusceans. It was already the case for a good part of southern Paduan basin celtic peoples, and I don't see why the absence of Rome as an Italic political power would change that.
Eventually, giving their position, limited numbers (even by reinforcing them), I'd say that Samnits or other highlands people would eventually spread on coastal plains : Roma as well as Capua.

*Strictly speaking : Romans called Celts "Galli", but we tend nowadays to reserve this name to populations living in the region named "Gaul" by Caesar. With the twist that not all Gauls were Celts.
 
Actually, you may have a look on other mediterranean Celtic/Celtized populations to have an idea how deep the mix could look like : Celto-Greeks (Galatians), Celto-Ligurians (themselves more or less hellenized), Celto-Iberians (not only Celtiberians, but South-Western Gauls), etc.
 
As said above, I think you'd likely end with Oscan power(s) taking on the coastal plains.

They had historically made ties with Latins (would it be only because Oscan speaking people as Sabini were absorbated by the former), and I could see them being eventually absorbated, trough a series of bounding alliances, as it partially happened IOTL.

Interestingly, Samnits and Lucani had as well an history of interaction with southern Greek cities, so I'd guess you'd have something comparable to Pyrrhic War at some stage.

Now, it depends a lot if Rome is taken over by Celts definitively or if it's just particularly damaged by the raid (let's assume Capitole is taken) and/or Camillus being defeated at Gabii.

If Celts maintain a pressure on Central Italy (but again, it would ask for massive changes before) Oscan entities may have a more important focus on their northern side (at least for Samnits, arguably Lucanii could take on Apulia more easily) but could bound themselves more easily with Latins in a first time, as while Celts would become more Italicized/Etrusceanized, they'd probably have more affinities with the previous regional politics.

If Celts are gone but Rome out of the game, it'd be less obvious in a first time, IMO and allow Oscans to focus on their historical priorities (namely Campania and Adriatic coast), while remaining Etrusceans could get their shit together but I don't see why they would unify at some point : it doesn't appears to me that you had any real inner motivation for that.

So, basically :
- Samnits having good odds to get regional hegemony in Central Italy, with possible expension in the south.
- Lucani doing the same in non-Greek southern Italy
- Etrusceans continuing a slow decline, rather than being absorbated by Latins.

Past that, what happens in Italy and Western Mediterranean basin is anyone's guess.
 
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I think it could look more or less like this.

ONN5GeA.png
 

Artaxerxes

Banned
The expedition on Rome seems to have been a raid (would it be only because a large part of raiders didn't settle in Italy eventually) and/or, if you trust Roman historians, an expedition to prevent Romans to help Etruscean and northern Italic peoples to intervene on Northern Italy.

Supposedly it was actually a reprisal raid after the Roman ambassadors negotiating a treaty between the Etruscans and Celts joined in a battle against the Romans
 
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