Hania is built onthe site of the ancient city of Kydonia. This site was inhabited from Neolithic times and through all phases of the Minoan Period. Kydonia developed into a very important center of the Minoan civilization and itwas famous for its pottery workshops.  During the Roman period Kydoniawas an important city. Kydonia was destroyed in 828 AD by the Saracenepirates. During the Byzantine period Hania ceased to be an important city.
When the Venetians came they settled in Kastelli, the hill which commands the harbor, andthey fortified it. They built there their cathedral, Santa Maria, as wellas a palace, theatre and houses for their nobility. The city flourishedas an economical and intellectual center. The fear of a Turkish invasionforced the Venetians to enclose the entire town with a wall and a moat.
In 1645 the Turks occupied Hania after a two months siege. In 1850 they transferred the capital of the island there.
With the liberation of Crete from the Turks, in 1897, Hania became the capital of the autonomous Cretan State. In 1913, along with the rest of Crete, it was united withthe rest of the Greek State.