Following Sellar and Yeatman's outstanding 1066 And All that (and the subsequent 1956 And All That), John Hulme wrote this "Illuminated History of Foreign Parts from BC to 2001" to cover what foreigners ("that is, not -- in this instance -- Oxonians") were doing in parallel to that wonderful history of the British. It's a short, very funny read, full of the sort of mixups and misunderstandings you'd expect from a rather poor student, and it points out clearly the Good Things and Bad Kings, etc.
For instance:
"The most memorable Ancient Roman of them all was without a doubt the Emperor Julius Seizure. Several of his memorable sayings have since passed into English, including "vice versa" (rude poetry), "casus belli" (stomache-ache), "ex officio" (gone to lunch), "hic jacet" (a rustic suit), "nota bene" (hard up) and of course the famous "veni vidi vici" (when I weed I weaky -- a feeling known to reluctant gardeners the world over)."
Also, see Rasputin : a hard man to kill