kingdom · Scandinavia and the Baltic
Kingdom of the Swedes
Origins
Tacitus wrote of the Suiones in the 1st century, and by the 6th century the Svear had a power centre at Old Uppsala, where great royal mounds were raised. Rich boat graves at Vendel and Valsgärde show a wealthy warrior elite. Later sagas trace the kings to the legendary Yngling dynasty.
Rule and society
Kingship was tied to the pagan cult at Uppsala, described by Adam of Bremen, and to assemblies of free men at the thing. Birka, founded in the 8th century on Lake Mälaren, linked the kingdom to trade routes east to Rus' and the Byzantine and Abbasid worlds. Rimbert's life of Ansgar records King Björn receiving the Frankish missionary around 830 and King Olof receiving him again around 852.
Decline and legacy
Eric the Victorious, who defeated a rival at Fýrisvellir in the 980s, and his son Olof Skötkonung extended Svear rule over the Geats. This union of the Svear and Götar is regarded as the start of the medieval Kingdom of Sweden, and the Uppsala kingship gave Sweden its name.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of the Swedes. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-the-swedes
- MLA
- “Kingdom of the Swedes.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-the-swedes. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of the Swedes.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-the-swedes.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of the Swedes’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-the-swedes (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻