 According to al-Tabari, Bahram IV was the son of Shapur II (), however, several other historians, such as Hamza al-Isfahani, states that he was the son of Shapur III (), which seems more likely.Bahram, during the reign of his father, was the governor of Kirman, where he built the town of Shiragan, which would serve as the capital of the province for the remainder of the Sasanian period.The town played an important economic role, as it served as a mint city and had a great agricultural importance to the province.