1288

By area

Asia

• April - Battle of Bạch Đằng: Đại Việt general Trần Hưng Đạo sinks the fleet of an invading Mongol army of the Yuan Dynasty, by placing steel-tipped bamboo stakes in the Bach Dang River near Ha Long Bay.
• The Japanese era Koan ends, and the Shōō era begins.
• Japan: Prince Subaru conquers the provinces of Gunma and Tochigi.
• Li Ting leads troops and portable cannon of Kublai Khan against the rebel prince Nayan, at Banlachengzi in Manchuria.

  Europe

• January 20 - Newcastle Emlyn Castle in Wales is recaptured by English forces, bringing Rhys ap Maredudd's revolt to an end.
• June 5 - Battle of Worringen: John I of Brabant defeats the duchy of Guelders in one of the largest battles in Europe of the Middle Ages, thus winning possession of the Duchy of Limburg. The battle also liberates the city of Cologne from rule by the Archbishopric of Cologne; it had previously been one of the major ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire.
• August 8 - Pope Nicholas IV proclaims a crusade against King Ladislaus IV of Hungary, who had lost credibility by favoring his semi-pagan Cuman subjects, and in general refusing to conform to the social standards of western Europe.
• The Scots Parliament creates a law allowing women to propose marriage to men during leap years; men who refuse such proposals are required to pay a fine to the spurned bride-to-be.

  By topic

Arts and culture

• The oldest surviving bell, in the clocks atop the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is built.
• Work is begun on the construction of Mob Quad in Merton College, Oxford.

  Markets

• June 16 - The bishop of Västerås buys 1/8 of the Stora Kopparberg copper mine in Falun, Sweden.
• The Flemish city of Ghent seeks rights to start redeeming its already issued annuities. It is a clear indication of financial difficulty, and maybe an early sign of the crisis of the 13th Century.

  Religion

• February 22 - Pope Nicholas IV succeeds Pope Honorius IV, as the 191st pope.

  Technology

• The oldest known bronze handgun in the world is dated to this year, a Chinese gun found in Acheng District, that was once used to suppress the rebellion of the Christian Mongol Prince Nayan in 1287–1288.