According to the "Azerbaijan Historians" Public Union, Yagub Mahmudov was awarded the “Scientist of the Year in Europe” international award in recognition of his services in the worldwide science and education as well as “Order of Phenomena” (Leonardo da Vinci) for his achievements in 2022.

Yagub Mahmudov was the first historian to reveal Azerbaijan’s vast diplomatic relations with European countries in 15-17th centuries as well as names of Azerbaijani diplomats who held talks with European countries.

He defended his thesis for a Candidate’s degree entitled "Mutual relations between the Aghgoyunlu state and the Republic of Venice (60-70s of the 15th century)" in 1966 and his doctoral thesis on "Mutual relations of Aghgoyunlu and Safavid states with the Western European countries (2nd half of 15th – early 17th centuries)” at the Scientific Council of the Moscow State University after M.V. Lomonosov in 1989. His works have been translated into 15 languages, including Turkish, English, Russian, German, Arabic, French, Georgian, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Spanish, Italian, Farsi, Urdu and others.