Minoan era

The name of the city is first mentioned in Linear B tablets from Knossos as Ku-do-ni-ja (Mycenaean Greek: 𐀓𐀈𐀛𐀊).^[1]

At Kastelli Hill, which is the citadel of Chania's harbor, archaeological excavations have discovered ceramic sherds that date to the Neolithic. Scarce finds such as walls and ground floors confirm that the systematic habitation of the hill began during Early Minoan (EM) II period. A Minoan House (House I) with the characteristic hall was also unearthed. It was destroyed by fire during Late Minoan (LM) IB period. The houses from LMIIIA phase belonged to a palatial settlement, which ceased to exist in LMIII.

The city extended beyond Kastelli Hill as the excavations in Daskalogiannis Street revealed, where a LMI sanctuary or "lustral basin" came to light. The discovery of a corpus of Linear A and Linear B tablets points out the presence of an archive. Moreover, the archaeologists have identified the existence of a local pottery workshop, which was active in LMIII.^[2][3]

Classical Antiquity

This section relies excessively on references to primary sources. (January 2024)

Archaeological evidence from the Early Iron Age and Archaic Era is limited.^{[citation needed]}

In 429 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Kydonia was attacked by the Athenians after the accusations of Nikias from Gortyna for pro-Spartan policy.^[4] In 343 BC the city was besieged by Phalaikos and his army of mercenaries after his failed attempt to capture Lyttus. He was killed from a lightning strike that burnt his siege engines.^[5]

In the Hellenistic period, Kydonia took part in the struggle for domination among the cities of Crete.^[6] At the end of the 3rd century BC a peace treaty with Aptera was signed.

During the Lyttian War In 220/219 BC both cities joined the alliance of Oreioi (in which Polyrrhenia was a member) and canceled the one with Knossos. Aggressive policy led to the capture of Phalasarna (184 B.C.E) and 14 years later that of Apollonia, an action criticized by Polybius since they were allies.^[7]

In 69 BC the Romans under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, after the failed attempt of Marcus Antonius Creticus, invaded Crete. The Cretan general Lasthenes confronted them in the battle of Kydonia, where he lost and retreated. This outcome forced Cretan general Panares to capitulate to the Romans and deliver them the city without resistance.^[8] The coins of the city-state depict Kydon either as an infant suckling a female Cretan hound or as an archer stringing his bow, accompanied by his dog.^[9]

The remaining base from the Hellenistic wall can be seen below the Byzantine wall of Kastelli Hill. Rescue excavations have discovered Hellenistic facilities below buildings of the modern city.^[10]

After the battle of Actium (31 BC) Augustus set Kydonia free for its assistance to him.^[11] Kydonians are mentioned in book 12 of the Aeneid, where their excellent bow skills are used in an extended Virgilian simile describing the Fury's descent to Juturna. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World suggest that the city also bore the name Apollonia (Ἀπολλωνία, Apollōnía) at some point.^{[12][when?][why?]}

Late Antiquity

In 365 the city must have been affected by the earthquake that devastated many cities of Crete. The Episcopate of Kydonia is referred in many ecclesiastical documents. The earliest is in 381 when Cydonius the bishop of Kydonia takes part in the First council of Constantinople.^[13] The prosperity of the city during Late Roman times is illustrated by the mosaics of houses found near Agora Square. Roman workshops have been found in some parts of the modern city.^[10][14] Material from the urban architecture of the ancient city was used for the construction of Kastelli Hill's Byzantine wall.^[14]

Middle Ages

The first Byzantine period of Kydonia ended with the Arab conquest of Crete in the 820s. After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete in 961, the bishopric was transferred outside the city near the village of Agya.^[14] It is uncertain when the toponym Kydonia ceased to be used in place of forms of the modern Chania. The scholars suggest that the name was changed by the Arabs, who named the city al-Ḵān (Arabic: الخان, "the Caravanserai" or "Inn"). This name may have derived from a suburb of Kydonia called Alchania Komi,^{[clarification needed]} where the god Welchanos had been worshipped in antiquity.^[15] Under Venetian rule, the city was known as Canea.

Modernity

The name is preserved in the Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas, which was established in 1962.^[13] Today's archaeological recoveries from the ancient city of Kydonia are largely stored in the Chania Archaeological Museum in present-day Chania.^[16]