Zangibasar district was first established on December 31, 1937. The center of the district was Ulukhanli. The distance from there to the city of Iravan is 20 km.

The territory of the district was included in the Zangibasar district of the historical Iravan khanate, and during Tsarist Russia it was part of the Iravan district of the Iravan governorate.

Until 1937, the villages of the district were mainly divided between Uchkilsa district and Gamarli district. On December 31, 1937, Zangibasar district with a total area of 170 km² was created by merging 18 villages from Gamarli district and 14 villages from Uchkilsa district. The ancient Ulukhanli village was also renamed “Zangibasar” and declared an administrative center.

Zangibasar district was abolished in 1953 and reorganized for the second time on January 14, 1969 under the name “Masis”.

Since 1987, the native inhabitants of the district – Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their places of residence. In 1995, the district was abolished and included in the administrative territory of Ararat province of Armenia.