Location
Their primary dwellings were in eastern Svealand. Their territories also very early included the provinces of Västmanland, Södermanland and Närke in the Mälaren Valley which constituted a bay with a multitude of islands. The region is still one of the most fertile and densely populated regions of Scandinavia.
Their territories were called Svealand - "Swede-land" (the Voyage of Ohthere: Swéoland), Suithiod - "Swede-people" (Beowulf: Sweoðeod ), Svíaveldi or Svea rike - "Swede-realm" (Beowulf: Swéorice). The political unification with the Geats in Götaland, a process that was not complete until 13th century, is nowadays often regarded as the birth of the Swedish kingdom, although the Swedish kingdom is named after them, Sverige in Swedish, from Svea rike - i.e. the kingdom of the Suiones.
The Aesir-cult centre in Gamla Uppsala, was the religious centre of the Swedes and where the Swedish king served as a priest during the sacrifices (blóts). Uppsala was also the centre of the Uppsala öd, the network of royal estates that financed the Swedish king and his court until the 13th century.
Some dispute whether the original domains of the Suiones really were in Uppsala, the heartland of Uppland, or if the term was used commonly for all tribes within Svealand, in the same way as old Norway's different provinces were collectively referred to as Nortmanni.
Read more about this topic: Swedes (Germanic Tribe)