[1][2] In his early career, Mahmud Jan served as administrator of the financial affairs of Persian Iraq and Fars under the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Sultan Khalil (r.
[6] While Mahmud Jan along with Shaykh Ali Savaji (Qazi Isa's brother) were assessing and seizing tax-free places in the southern city of Shiraz, Ya'qub became severely ill and died in December 24, 1490 in the Transcaucasian region of Qarabagh.
[9][5] By 1497, Rustam Beg found himself largely deserted by his subjects, and was soon deposed and killed by his cousin Gövde Aḥmad, who had received reinforcements by the Ottoman Empire.
[10] In 1499, Mahmud Jan was once more recalled by another Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Sultan Khalil's son Alvand Beg (r. 1497–1504/5), who had captured Tabriz with the backing of the Bayandur and Mawsillu chieftains.
[5][11][12] In 1502, the Safavid shah (king) Ismail I (r. 1501–1524) appointed Mahmud Jan as his vizier to jointly serve with Amir Zakariya, another former Aq Qoyunlu bureaucrat.