1290

By place

Europe

• Year without winter - Exceptionally rare instance of uninterrupted transition, from autumn 1289 to the following spring, in Britain and mainland western Europe.
• March 1 - The University of Coimbra is founded in Lisbon, Portugal by King Denis of Portugal; it moves to Coimbra in 1308.
• July 10 - Ladislaus IV of Hungary is assassinated by three Cumans, at the castle of Körösszeg in Romania.
• July 18 - By the Edict of Expulsion, King Edward I of England orders all Jews to leave England by November 1 ; on the Hebrew calendar this is Tisha B'Av, a day that commemorates many calamities.
• July 23 - Andrew III of Hungary is crowned in Székesfehérvár by Lodomer, Archbishop of Esztergom, having escaped from captivity in Vienna.
• August 1 - The country of Wallachia is founded.
• December - The twelve Eleanor crosses are erected between Lincolnshire and London in England, as King Edward I mourns the death of his queen consort, Eleanor of Castile.
• December 18 - Upon the death of Magnus III, he is succeeded by his 10-year-old son Birger as king of Sweden. Although Sweden is an elective monarchy at this time, Birger has been appointed heir to the throne already in 1284.
• Construction of Llandaff Cathedral is completed in Cardiff, Wales, 170 years after it was begun.
• The Mongol Golden Horde invades the Bessarabia region of Moldavia.
• The second of the Statutes of Mortmain are passed under King Edward I of England, which prevents land from passing into possession of the church. The statute Quia Emptores is also passed, reforming the feudal system of land leases, and allowing the sale of fee simple estates.
• King Denis of Portugal decrees that Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, replacing classical Latin in that capacity.
• Construction on the Akershus Fortress of Oslo, Norway is begun.

  Asia

• September 27 - The 6.8 Chihli earthquake affects the province of Hebei, China with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, killing 7,270–100,000.
• The founding Mamluk dynasty of the Sultanate of Delhi is overthrown, by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji of the Khalji dynasty.