He seems to have successfully navigated a complex political landscape and formed an alliance with Badr al-Din Lu'lu', the ruler of Mosul.

After Mahmud's death, Badr al-Din Lu'lu' appears to have had his son killed and annexed Jazirat Ibn 'Umar to his own territory.

[1]: 186–8 The Zengids of Jazirat Ibn 'Umar originated in 1180, when Sayf al-Din Ghazi II died while his sons were still young.

As a result, his brother Izz al-Din Mas'ud I took over as ruler of Mosul, while Ghazi's sons were given Jazirat Ibn 'Umar as a principality instead.

Ibn al-Athir wrote that his own surriyya or jariya had previously worked for Mahmud, and she had seen him "burning the faces of several of his father's concubines before throwing them into the river".

Although little of Mahmud's reign is described by contemporary sources, he seems to have been relatively successful at navigating the complex politics of the time: he was on good terms with the Abbasid caliph, the Ayyubids of Syria, and the ruler of Mosul, Badr al-Din Lu'lu'.

Based on stylistic similarities, James Allan and Ruba Kana'an have both argued that this ewer was likely made in the workshop of Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya in Mosul.