Janos is a town located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the municipal seat of government for the surrounding Janos Municipality of the same name. As of 2010, the town of Janos had a population of 2,738. Janos was possibly the site of a Franciscan mission established about 1640 and destroyed by Indian attack in the 1680s. The Spanish established a fort in Janos in 1686 which became a key element in the Spanish attempt to suppress raids and attacks by the Apache people.