Khaniá

Khaniá (khänyä') or Canea (kənē'ə) , ancient Gr. Cydonia (sīdō'nēə), city (1991 pop. 50,077), capital of Khaniá prefecture, NW Crete, Greece, a port on the Gulf of Khaniá, an arm of the Sea of Crete. Olives, citrus fruits, and wine are shipped. One of the oldest Cretan cities, it was conquered in 69 B.C. by the Romans and in A.D. 826 fell under Arab rule. Reconquered (961) by the Byzantine Empire, it became (13th cent.) a Venetian colony. The Ottoman Empire took the city in 1645. It was the capital of Crete from 1841 to the mid-20th cent. The city has a synagogue, a mosque, and several churches. Among its historic sites are medieval fortifications and an old Venetian arsenal.