The oldest known residency of Kos goes back to the Bronze age (2300 -2000BC) and was traced to the hill Seragion(today’s old town) where part of a settlement and fortress were found. During the Minoan domination in the Aegean, people settled and populated widely in Kos. Because of the Minoan settlement Kos gained a crucial position in the network of commercial routes to the East. The prosperity and blossoming of the settlement is illustrated in the “New Catalogue” of the Iliada (676-680) where they take part in the Trojan war with a fleet of 30 thirty ships.

In historic times, around the tenth century BC, the Dorians settled on the island and according to Herodotos, they came from Argolida. In ancient times Kos took part in the Doric sixth city, together with the three cities of Rhodes (Lindos, Ialyssos and Camiros) Knido and Alikarnassou which had as their religious centre the temple of Apollo at the Cape of Triopio on the coast of Asia Minor. Stravona’s report about the transfer of the capital of Kos – Astipalia shows that Kos was deserted and so the capital was moved to Isthmioton near Kefalos.

The first mention of the early Christian period in Kos is connected to the visit of the disciple Paul which is mentioned in the book of Paul. This was recorded in the minutes of the first Ecumenical Synod of Nice in 325 and was signed by the bishop of Kos Melifron.  The big earthquake in 469AD signaled the change in the structure of architecture from the Roman times to Christian times. However, the next earthquake was very strong in 554AD and destroyed the city of Kos.This made it difficult for the city to get back to its former glory.

During its domination in Kos (1337-1522) the Battalion of the Knights of Saint John fortified and upgraded the Byzantine network of fortresses on the island. In those  times Kos was an independent unit to which Kalymnos and Leros belonged to. The command of the Knights was carried out by few commanding officers but they offered sufficient protection from the attacks of the pirates and the Muslim empire. According to the Knights records which can be found in Malta today, the commanding officer’s responsibility was to ensure the safety of the residents, the enforcement of justice,