His rule saw the empire rise to a peak of peace and prosperity following a series of succession disputes and short reigns.
Under his rule, the Songhai economy thrived and developed a profoundly Islamized society, with the government promoting trade, education, and literacy.
When Askia Ishaq I was on his deathbed in 1549, close allies summoned Dawud from Tindirma so that he could be in Gao as the moment of succession.
[6] He reorganized the army and led at least 20 military campaigns, most of them successful, projecting Songhai power throughout the region and bringing massive quantities of booty and slaves back to Gao.
[11] Daoud's son Mohammad Bonkana and the Huku-kuri-koi (palace vizier) Yāsī led a series of campaigns against the Dogon people of the Bandiagara Escarpment which re-established some limited Songhai authority there that had weakened since Askia Muhammad's time.
[12] The Songhai army under Daoud failed to modernize by adopting firearms, and relied on spears, arrows[13] and guerrilla warfare.
[17] In 1556–1557 troops of Mulay Muhammad al-Shaykh, the sultan of Marrakesh, captured the extremely lucrative and economically important salt mines of Taghaza but then withdrew.