 400, he was the son of shah Yazdegerd I (r. 399–420) and Shushandukht, a daughter of the Jewish exilarch.Richard Frye believes that the Yazdagird's marriage to a daughter of the patriarch of the Jews is "probably folk tales".Bahram, during his youth, fell out with his father due to a disagreement, which made the latter sent him to exile in the Lakhmid court in al-Hira, where he was raised under the tutolage of the Lakhmid king al-Nu'man I ibn Imru' al-Qays (r. 390–418).