During his lifetime, Khan Jahan Lodi sponsored the Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani, a written ethno-history of the Afghans which was highly influential on subsequent works about the topic.

According to his biography in the Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani, he was descended from a clan in the region of Roh,[b] and his ancestors migrated into the Indian subcontinent during the rule of Sikandar Lodi.

[3] Pir Khan spent a number of his formative years in the Deccan, while his father served under two consecutive Mughal governors of the region (Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan and prince Daniyal).

[4] During the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar, Pir Khan participated in the final stages of the conquest of Bengal, fighting under the command of Raja Man Singh.

After the fall of Qandahar, a number of Afghan tribesmen approached Khan Jahan Lodi and offered their support in leading a retaliation against the Safavids.

Khan Jahan Lodi refused, fearing imperial backlash at the idea of Afghan forces clustering under his name.

Taking advantage of political chaos in the final years of Jahangir, he colluded with the Nizam Shahi ruler and handed over the Balaghat region of the Deccan, receiving 3,00,000 huns in exchange.

[7][11] Khan Jahan Lodi's successful career during Jahangir's rule was unprecedented for an Afghan, and controversial among the Mughal elite.

Scholars have explained Khan Jahan Lodi's rise as part of Jahangir's strategy to conciliate and recruit Afghans into the Mughal imperial system.

Khan Jahan Lodi spent eight terse months at court, nominally serving as governor of Malwa, until October 1629 when he fled for the Deccan, accompanied by some of his followers.

[11] He deputed three armies totalling 50,000 troops southwards against the Nizam Shahis, and followed suit by moving his court to Burhanpur.

After his death, his head was cut off from his body and sent to Burhanpur, where it was received by Shah Jahan during a boat ride on the Tapti River.

[5][14][7] Richard Eaton has characterised Khan Jahan Lodi's rebellion as one of the most serious from a noble in Mughal history, albeit successfully quelled.

[5] During the height of his career as a noble of Jahangir, he sponsored a work of history in the Persian language titled Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani (lit.