The ecumene (, also spelled œcumene or oikoumene) is, literally, the inhabited part of the
earth. The term derives from the
Greek (the
feminine present middle participle of the verb "inhabit"), short for "inhabited world".The word ecumene traditionally refers that part of the world inhabited by humans, especially that known to the
Ancient Greeks. The
Eastern Roman Empire, which recognized no other power as sovereign, considered its
temporal authority to extend, at least in principle, over the entire ecumene. The term has also been used to describe the
Afro-
Eurasian "
Old World" as a single system of interconnected societies. By extension, that part of the world known to any other
civilization may be termed its ecumene. Various writers of
science fiction have further extended this sense to refer to that part of the universe inhabited by
humans.
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