It is in this political climate that the earliest reported date of arrival of Norman knights in southern Italy is around 999 CE, although it may be assumed that they had visited before then. In that year, Norman pilgrims returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem landed in the Greek-occupied city of Apulia, where they traveled to the eastern side of the Peninsula and stayed in the Lombard-occupied city of Salerno. During their stay, an army of Berbers attacked the city in order to collect an overdue annual tribute. While tribute was being collected by the Salerno king to appease the attackers, the Normans ridiculed him and his Lombard subjects for cowardice. After some planning, the Norman and Lombards assaulted their besiegers, winning the battle and collecting the loot left behind. As a result, the grateful King of Salerno then asked Normans to stay. While the Normans refused, they did promise to bring his rich gifts to their compatriots in Normandy and tell them about possibly lucrative military service in Salerno. This laid the foundation for the adventurous Normans to begin their migration to the Italian Peninsula.