Okhtar is a village in the Zangezur uezd of the former Yelizavetpol (Ganja) governorate, later in the former Gafan district, and currently in the Syunik province. The provincial centre lies 22 km to the northwest of the town of Gapan, on the left bank of the Okhtar River, at a height of 1,070 m above sea level. The name of the village is also mentioned as “Okhdar” in sources. After the establishment of the Zangezur uezd in Soviet Armenia on 31 August 1921, the settlement was integrated into the administrative area of Armenia. The five-verst map of the Caucasus marks the villages Yukhari Okhtar and Ashagi Okhtar in Zangezur. Apparently, these two villages were later merged under a single name “Okhtar”.

The village was inhabited by 28 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 195 in 1873, 338 in 1886, 508 in 1897, 454 in 1904 and 353 Azerbaijanis in 1914. The Azerbaijanis were deported having been exposed to Armenian aggression in 1918. Following the establishment of Soviet power in the territory of present-day Armenia in 1922–1924, the village inhabitants were able to return to their native lands. The village was inhabited by 85 Azerbaijanis in 1926, 164 in 1931, 162 in 1939 and by 156 Azerbaijanis in 1959. In late November 1988, the villagers were completely deported from their historical-ethnic territories by the state of Armenia. At present, only Armenians live there.

The toponym was coined by adding the plural suffix “-tar / -dar”, which is used in Azerbaijani dialect (in the Azerbaijani literary language “-lar, -lər”), to the word “okh, (ok) meaning “a tribe” in Old Turkic. Currently, the name of the settlement is written as “Okhtar” in official documents in Armenian.

According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative area of the Syunik province.

Geographic coordinates: latitude 39°16’ N, longitude 46°45’ E.