A son of Shāpūr I, during his father's reign he governed the province of Atropatene. His succession to his brother Hormizd I strengthened the position of the Zoroastrian clergy and their high priest Kartēr, and at their insistence Bahrām imprisoned Mani, the founder of the antimaterialist, ascetic religion of Manichaeism. Subsequent religious persecution was directed not only at Manichaeans but at Christians and Buddhists as well. Bahrām, distinguished by his characteristic radiate crown, is portrayed on a rock sculpture at Bishāpūr (in southern Iran), although his name in the inscription was later erased by the Sāsānian king Narses.