Khaniá (ancient Cydonia), city and seaport in Greece, located in northwestern Crete (Kríti). Although the harbor cannot accommodate large ships, the town is an important export center, principally for soap, oil, leather, and agricultural products. One of the oldest cities of Crete, Khaniá was conquered (69 BC) by the Romans, and in AD826 it fell under Arab rule. Reconquered (961) by the Byzantines, it became a Venetian colony in 1252. Despite the enormous wall with which the Venetians surrounded Khaniá, it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1646. In 1913, when the Ottomans ceded Crete to Greece, Khaniá was designated the island's capital. In 1941, during World War II, the town suffered heavy damage in the German airborne invasion of Crete. Among the notable buildings of Khaniá are Turkish mosques and Greek churches. In 1971 the capital of Crete was transferred from Khaniá to Iráklion. Population (1991) 50,077.
