But if they're not in the bible... they don't exist to biblical literalists.
Even Bible literalists tend to acknowledge that things could happen contemporaneously that weren't necessarily in the Bible. They just don't view anything that happens that isn't in the Bible as being all that important.
It's similar to the story (which I absolutely can't remember the details of now, which is annoying the hell out of me) where a Muslim general basically conquered a city and had all of the books thrown into the river, to the point where they say the river ran black with ink for weeks (it might be the Siege of Badhdad and the destruction of the House of Wisdom, but I'm not 100% sure).
When asked why, he said "All of these books either agree with and support the Qur'an, in which case they are unnecessary. Or they contradict it, and are lies. Either way, they serve no purpose." (or something like that, again, I'm having a hard time pinning the precise details down in my brain - getting older sucks).
Siege of Baghdad (1258), also Hulagu Khan wasn't a Muslim. ---
